Fire near Santa Cruz (BO)
15.96°S, 62.82°W · first detected on 18 October at 19:34
What the satellites measured
This fire was tracked from 18 October at 19:34 to 22 October at 19:13, that is 4 days, through 215 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 4,146 ha.
- Detected extent
- 4,146 ha
- Cumulative power
- 3,376 MW
- Peak power, one pixel
- 88 MW
- VIIRS and MODIS detections
- 215
- Estimated emissions
- 9.3 kt of carbon
- Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 18 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 6 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 07:25 | 4 MW | 4 | N21 |
| 22 October at 00:34 | 98 MW | 1 | Met10 |
| 21 October at 23:36 | 37 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 23:30 | 40 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 21 October at 23:26 | 36 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 23:16 | 40 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 23:06 | 63 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 23:00 | 70 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 21 October at 22:40 | 72 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 21 October at 22:26 | 81 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 22:20 | 83 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 21 October at 22:16 | 50 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 22:14 | 147 MW | 5 | Aqua |
| 21 October at 22:00 | 180 MW | 2 | G19 |
| 21 October at 21:50 | 184 MW | 2 | G19 |
| 21 October at 21:46 | 42 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 21:40 | 399 MW | 5 | G19 |
| 21 October at 21:36 | 68 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 21:30 | 370 MW | 5 | G19 |
| 21 October at 21:23 | 185 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 21:20 | 284 MW | 3 | G19 |
| 21 October at 21:13 | 124 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 21:10 | 169 MW | 2 | G19 |
| 21 October at 21:06 | 283 MW | 3 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 21:03 | 251 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 21:00 | 164 MW | 2 | G19 |
| 21 October at 20:53 | 93 MW | 8 | N |
| 21 October at 20:53 | 177 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 20:50 | 319 MW | 4 | G19 |
| 21 October at 20:46 | 179 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 20:43 | 93 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 20:40 | 558 MW | 5 | G19 |
| 21 October at 20:36 | 161 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 20:33 | 122 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 20:30 | 599 MW | 6 | G19 |
| 21 October at 20:23 | 179 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 20:20 | 222 MW | 3 | G19 |
| 21 October at 20:17 | 616 MW | 28 | N21 |
| 21 October at 20:13 | 136 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 20:10 | 293 MW | 4 | G19 |
| 21 October at 20:03 | 277 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 20:00 | 515 MW | 7 | G19 |
| 21 October at 19:56 | 267 MW | 2 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 19:53 | 266 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 19:50 | 586 MW | 6 | G19 |
| 21 October at 19:46 | 277 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 19:43 | 123 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 19:40 | 439 MW | 3 | G19 |
| 21 October at 19:36 | 187 MW | 2 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 19:34 | 283 MW | 15 | N20 |
| 21 October at 19:33 | 95 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 19:30 | 343 MW | 4 | G19 |
| 21 October at 19:26 | 188 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 19:23 | 195 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 19:20 | 657 MW | 6 | G19 |
| 21 October at 19:16 | 74 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 19:13 | 254 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 19:13 | 599 MW | 41 | N |
| 21 October at 19:10 | 327 MW | 5 | G19 |
| 21 October at 19:03 | 554 MW | 6 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 19:00 | 363 MW | 4 | G19 |
| 21 October at 18:56 | 297 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 18:53 | 434 MW | 7 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 18:50 | 224 MW | 4 | G19 |
| 21 October at 18:46 | 581 MW | 4 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 18:43 | 398 MW | 4 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 18:40 | 831 MW | 7 | G19 |
| 21 October at 18:36 | 304 MW | 2 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 18:33 | 143 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 18:26 | 81 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 18:23 | 131 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 18:16 | 172 MW | 2 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 18:13 | 290 MW | 4 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 18:06 | 69 MW | 1 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 18:03 | 229 MW | 3 | Met12 |
| 21 October at 17:56 | 135 MW | 2 | G19FRP |
| 21 October at 17:53 | 52 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 21:50 | 57 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 20 October at 21:40 | 230 MW | 2 | G19 |
| 20 October at 21:30 | 80 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 20 October at 21:00 | 76 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 20 October at 20:36 | 259 MW | 7 | N21 |
| 20 October at 20:33 | 83 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 20:30 | 466 MW | 5 | G19 |
| 20 October at 20:23 | 57 MW | 1 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 20:20 | 338 MW | 3 | G19 |
| 20 October at 19:52 | 218 MW | 15 | N20 |
| 20 October at 19:32 | 63 MW | 10 | N |
| 20 October at 19:13 | 70 MW | 2 | Met12 |
| 20 October at 19:10 | 52 MW | 1 | G19 |
| 20 October at 18:56 | 210 MW | 12 | N21 |
| 19 October at 19:52 | 31 MW | 2 | N |
| 19 October at 19:13 | 4 MW | 1 | N21 |
| 18 October at 19:34 | 8 MW | 1 | N21 |
8 other fires near Santa Cruz (BO)
Separate fires, apart in time or in space, not pieces of this one. A single municipality can have several over one summer, and a forest massif often covers more than a hundred square kilometres.
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