MODIS Active Fire Detections for the Contiguous US and Hawaii

Near-real-time active fire and thermal anomaly detections from NASA's FIRMS, derived from MODIS sensors on Terra (since 2000) and Aqua (since 2002) satellites. The data covers the contiguous United States and Hawaii, with files updated typically within 3 hours of satellite acquisition. Files are available in SHP, KML, and CSV formats for the last 24 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days.

Use Cases

• Monitor near-real-time wildfire activity based on thermal anomaly detections.
• Analyze fire spread patterns based on geospatial fire detection data.
• Support resource management decisions based on active fire locations.
• Conduct historical fire trend analysis based on data spanning over two decades.

Strengths

• Data is updated typically within 3 hours of satellite acquisition.
• Time series spans from 2000 (Terra) and 2002 (Aqua) to present.
• Covers the contiguous United States and Hawaii.
• Available in multiple geospatial formats (SHP, KML, CSV).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS)

Collection Method

Derived from MODIS sensor family on Terra and Aqua satellites.

Time Range

2000-present

Freshness

Continuously updated, typically within 3 hours of acquisition.

Geography

Contiguous United States and Hawaii