Wildfire Tracker

A live map and list of active fire detections near you, from NASA FIRMS satellites — filter by time and confidence, and sort by distance. Free, no sign-up. A hotspot is a heat signature, not a confirmed wildfire.

Active fire detections

A hotspot is not a confirmed wildfire, and this is not an alert system. Each dot is a satellite heat signature from NASA FIRMS — it may be a fire, a gas flare, a volcano or an industrial heat source, and detections can lag a few hours. In an emergency, follow your local fire and emergency authorities.

100% free, no sign-up Your location stays in your browser Data from NASA FIRMS

How It Works

Pick a place and the latest satellite fire detections load — no account, no key.

1

Choose a location

Tap "Near me", search a city, or pick a fire-prone region. The tracker fetches active fire detections in a box around that point from the NASA FIRMS feed.

2

Read the map and list

Every detection is a dot coloured by fire radiative power — its heat intensity in megawatts — from lower to very high. The list shows the time, confidence and distance for each, nearest first.

3

Filter and open

Narrow to the past 24 hours to 3 days, or to higher-confidence detections only. Open any detection on Google Maps to see the exact spot. Remember: a hotspot is a heat signature, not a confirmed wildfire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the fire data come from?
From NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), using near-real-time active-fire detections from the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite. LK Forge shows these detections on a map and list; it does not detect fires itself.
Is a hotspot the same as a wildfire?
No. A hotspot is a satellite thermal anomaly — a heat signature. Most are vegetation fires, but a detection can also be a gas flare, an active volcano or an industrial heat source. It means something was hot at that spot when the satellite passed over, not that a wildfire is confirmed.
Is this a fire-alert or warning system?
No. It shows detections that satellites have already recorded, typically with a delay of up to a few hours, and it does not issue alerts. In an emergency, follow your local fire and emergency authorities — this tool is for awareness, not warnings.
How do I see fires near me?
Tap "Near me" and allow location access, or type a city or place, or pick a region. The tracker fetches active detections in a box around that point and sorts them by distance. Your device location stays in your browser and is only used to measure distances.
Is the tracker free and does it need an account?
Yes — completely free, with no account and no sign-up. The fire data loads the moment you choose a location.