Fire near Sanmatenga (BF)

13.42°N, 1.15°W · first detected on 20 October at 15:40

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 20 October at 15:40 to 22 October at 22:40, that is 2 days, through 79 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 2,021 ha.

Detected extent: 2,021 ha
Cumulative power: 1,197 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 174 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 79
Estimated emissions: 630 t of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 20 October 2026 to 21 October 2026. An order-of-magnitude estimate from GFAS (ECMWF, Copernicus CAMS): it also counts neighbouring fires in the same cell. Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information (2026). Published data stop on 21 October 2026.

These four figures cover the polar orbits alone, the ones that measure an area. The pass table below also counts geostationary detections, more frequent but too coarse for geometry, and its power column sums a whole pass where the peak above is that of a single pixel.

“Detected extent” is not “burned area”: it is the union of the ground footprints of the satellite pixels, and a pixel counts in full (375 m for VIIRS, 1 km for MODIS) even when only a forest edge is burning. Compared with press figures it is in practice one and a half to three times the area reported. Detections taken at the edge of the scan swath, too coarse to measure anything at all, are excluded. These figures come from thermal detection and are not an official assessment: only the emergency services and the competent authorities are authoritative.

Replay how the fire spread

The map is framed on this fire's footprint and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the period in which satellites saw it, from the first to the last detection, with twelve hours before and twenty-four after; the ticks on the bar mark the emergency services' announcements that fall within it. The cursor opens on the most powerful pass, and playback replays the whole fire in about thirty seconds. “1 h” shows what is burning within an hour of the chosen moment : the map then follows the power curve below and empties when it falls. “24 h” stacks twenty-four hours : a fire stays visible between two satellite passes, which come two to four times a day. Both are true, but they say different things.

How the radiative power evolved

One point per satellite pass: the sum of the fire radiative power measured over the fire. This is the curve that says whether the fire eased off or picked up again, which no cumulative figure shows. The window covers 5 days; beyond that, clustering would merge two successive fires in the same place.

Fire dynamics

Loading history…

Satellite passes in detail

Pass	Power summed over the pass	Detections	Sensor
22 October at 22:40	14 MW	1	Terra
22 October at 22:16	22 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 18:36	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:26	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:23	64 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 18:16	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:08	30 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 18:03	31 MW	2	Aqua
22 October at 17:56	25 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 17:53	105 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 17:46	29 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 17:38	124 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 17:36	81 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 17:26	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:23	184 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 17:16	51 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 17:08	29 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:53	109 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:46	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:38	282 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 16:36	42 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 16:26	50 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 16:23	312 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 16:16	228 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 16:08	346 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 16:06	218 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 15:59	201 MW	18	N20
22 October at 15:56	176 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 15:53	241 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 15:46	133 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 15:40	240 MW	31	N
22 October at 15:38	249 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 15:36	117 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 15:26	225 MW	10	Met12
22 October at 15:23	469 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 15:16	461 MW	15	Met12
22 October at 15:08	336 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:08	784 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 15:06	461 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 15:01	633 MW	24	N21
22 October at 14:56	586 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 14:53	597 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 14:46	660 MW	14	Met12
22 October at 14:38	554 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 14:36	640 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 14:26	499 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 14:23	485 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 14:16	429 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 14:08	361 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 14:06	364 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 13:56	106 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 13:52	132 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:46	110 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 13:36	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:26	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:22	42 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:37	36 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:36	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:16	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:06	22 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 04:32	2 MW	2	N
22 October at 03:11	1 MW	1	N20
21 October at 19:26	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 19:23	30 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 19:16	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 19:08	37 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 19:06	24 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 18:56	23 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 18:53	72 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 18:38	53 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 18:38	61 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 18:36	21 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 18:26	136 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 18:23	180 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 18:23	87 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 18:16	46 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 18:08	105 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 18:08	70 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 18:06	61 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 17:56	23 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:53	106 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 17:46	34 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:38	433 MW	5	Met10
21 October at 17:36	281 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 17:26	33 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 17:24	49 MW	2	Aqua
21 October at 17:23	80 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 17:23	80 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 17:16	206 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 17:08	365 MW	5	Met10
21 October at 17:06	103 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 16:56	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:53	72 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 16:46	128 MW	7	Met12
21 October at 16:38	157 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 16:36	77 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 16:26	70 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 16:06	22 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:57	26 MW	3	N
21 October at 15:56	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:38	40 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 15:26	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:23	30 MW	3	N21
21 October at 14:38	24 MW	4	N20
21 October at 14:16	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:56	15 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:06	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 17:16	82 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 17:06	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:56	120 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 16:46	94 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 16:36	46 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:26	131 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 16:18	72 MW	7	N
20 October at 16:16	126 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 16:06	151 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 15:56	70 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:53	84 MW	2	Met10
20 October at 15:46	63 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:40	66 MW	3	N21

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