Wildfires: Near Real-Time Global Hotspots and US Incident Reports

Esri provides this near real-time geospatial feed of global thermal activity and US-specific wildfire data, integrating NASA VIIRS (7-day) and MODIS (48-hour) satellite observations. The dataset combines satellite-detected hotspots with US wildfire reports (I-209), perimeters, and red flag warnings to monitor active fire intensity and susceptibility.

Use Cases

• Visualizing active fire intensity using VIIRS thermal hotspot layers
• Monitoring US wildfire progression by tracking I-209 reports and perimeters
• Assessing regional fire risk through red flag warnings and wildfire potential indices

Strengths

• Integrates NASA VIIRS and MODIS satellite products
• Includes official US I-209 wildfire incident reports
• Provides live feeds for red flag warnings and weather radar

Limitations

• Extremely short temporal window of 7 days prevents historical analysis
• Significant geographic bias with detailed metadata only available for the US
• Access is via GEOSERVICE or WEB APP rather than raw bulk download

Provenance

Source

NASA LANCE, NASA EOSDIS, and Esri

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing (VIIRS/MODIS) and administrative reporting (I-209)

Time Range

Rolling window of the last 48 hours to 7 days

Freshness

Near real-time; MODIS data covers the last 48 hours and VIIRS covers the last 7 days.

Geography

Global for hotspots; US-only for incident reports and perimeters