Fire near Sofia (MG)

15.51°S, 48.14°E · first detected on 22 September at 23:44

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 22 September at 23:44 to 22 October at 14:38, that is at least 30 days: the clustering window stops there, and the fire or heat source may be older, through 1,231 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 16,167 ha.

Detected extent: 16,167 ha
Cumulative power: 34,114 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 592 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 1,231
Estimated emissions: 27.0 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 5 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 30 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 11:32	10 MW	1	N21
21 October at 12:47	12 MW	1	N20
21 October at 12:28	28 MW	2	N
21 October at 11:49	11 MW	2	N21
21 October at 00:16	7 MW	6	N20
20 October at 23:55	7 MW	4	N
20 October at 23:18	5 MW	3	N21
20 October at 19:34	7 MW	1	Terra
20 October at 17:13	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:53	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:43	10 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:23	22 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 16:13	25 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 16:04	112 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 16:03	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:49	32 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 15:34	71 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 15:23	49 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:19	201 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 15:13	68 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:04	115 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 15:03	43 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:59	94 MW	1	Aqua
20 October at 14:53	37 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:49	112 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 14:43	78 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:34	532 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 14:33	126 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 14:23	114 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:19	41 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 14:04	40 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:49	31 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:43	19 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:34	160 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 13:19	153 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 13:06	197 MW	25	N20
20 October at 13:04	258 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 13:03	68 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:53	71 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:49	475 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 12:45	509 MW	25	N
20 October at 12:43	125 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 12:34	273 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 12:34	744 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 12:33	472 MW	7	Met12
20 October at 12:23	33 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:19	354 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 12:13	132 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:11	249 MW	14	N21
20 October at 12:04	333 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 12:03	100 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 11:53	88 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:49	493 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 11:43	215 MW	4	Met12
20 October at 11:34	255 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 11:34	825 MW	5	Met9
20 October at 11:33	494 MW	8	Met12
20 October at 11:23	221 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 11:19	215 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 11:19	587 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 11:13	110 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:04	349 MW	3	Met9
20 October at 11:03	47 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 10:53	63 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:49	399 MW	4	Met9
20 October at 10:34	77 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 10:19	72 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 10:04	67 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 09:53	35 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 09:49	463 MW	5	Met9
20 October at 09:43	128 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 09:34	126 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 08:19	54 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 08:04	181 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 08:03	63 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 07:53	84 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 07:49	295 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 07:43	55 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 07:34	41 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 07:33	13 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 07:23	39 MW	2	Terra
20 October at 07:19	32 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 07:03	63 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 07:03	108 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 00:33	22 MW	13	N20
19 October at 23:38	29 MW	10	N21
19 October at 18:56	77 MW	3	Terra
19 October at 14:23	1,163 MW	13	Aqua
19 October at 13:25	843 MW	35	N20
19 October at 13:06	712 MW	27	N
19 October at 12:28	549 MW	31	N21
19 October at 11:43	842 MW	24	N20
19 October at 00:52	7 MW	5	N20
19 October at 00:33	8 MW	4	N
18 October at 23:55	16 MW	7	N21
18 October at 19:54	55 MW	2	Terra
18 October at 13:23	19 MW	2	N
18 October at 12:47	68 MW	5	N21
18 October at 00:52	3 MW	3	N
18 October at 00:16	15 MW	11	N21
17 October at 23:31	13 MW	10	N20
17 October at 19:17	112 MW	6	Terra
17 October at 13:06	1,867 MW	39	N21
17 October at 12:21	4,055 MW	26	N20
17 October at 12:02	629 MW	10	N
17 October at 11:26	2,241 MW	25	N21
15 October at 00:08	1 MW	1	N
14 October at 23:31	1 MW	1	N21
14 October at 14:29	24 MW	2	Aqua
14 October at 13:17	38 MW	4	N20
14 October at 12:58	60 MW	7	N
14 October at 12:21	55 MW	4	N21
14 October at 11:37	10 MW	1	N20
14 October at 00:46	4 MW	4	N20
14 October at 00:27	6 MW	4	N
13 October at 23:50	9 MW	6	N21
13 October at 19:56	35 MW	2	Terra
13 October at 11:58	899 MW	35	N20
12 October at 19:20	223 MW	11	Terra
12 October at 14:51	1,110 MW	18	Aqua
12 October at 13:00	2,066 MW	62	N21
12 October at 11:56	1,795 MW	42	N
12 October at 07:06	108 MW	2	Terra
12 October at 00:29	6 MW	3	N21
11 October at 23:44	1 MW	1	N20
10 October at 12:34	6 MW	1	N
7 October at 12:11	15 MW	1	N20
5 October at 12:47	1 MW	1	N20
2 October at 12:04	5 MW	1	N20
1 October at 23:31	1 MW	1	N20
1 October at 14:27	110 MW	3	Aqua
1 October at 13:06	102 MW	2	N21
1 October at 12:21	45 MW	1	N20
29 September at 14:49	23 MW	1	Aqua
29 September at 13:00	11 MW	1	N20
29 September at 12:41	8 MW	1	N
29 September at 00:27	9 MW	5	N20
29 September at 00:08	11 MW	7	N
28 September at 23:31	17 MW	5	N21
28 September at 20:02	86 MW	2	Terra
28 September at 13:17	82 MW	3	N20
28 September at 12:21	40 MW	1	N21
28 September at 11:37	36 MW	3	N20
28 September at 00:46	4 MW	3	N20
28 September at 00:27	9 MW	3	N
27 September at 23:50	12 MW	4	N21
27 September at 19:22	28 MW	2	Terra
27 September at 13:17	130 MW	7	N
27 September at 12:41	125 MW	4	N21
27 September at 11:56	257 MW	3	N20
27 September at 11:39	50 MW	2	N
27 September at 00:08	1 MW	1	N21
25 September at 23:44	1 MW	1	N20
25 September at 00:01	2 MW	2	N20
24 September at 23:42	2 MW	1	N
24 September at 19:05	209 MW	5	Terra
24 September at 12:53	21 MW	1	N20
24 September at 12:34	32 MW	1	N
24 September at 11:58	6 MW	1	N21
24 September at 00:01	1 MW	1	N
23 September at 23:25	1 MW	1	N21

8 other fires near Sofia (MG)

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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