{"id":17618,"date":"2018-06-03T05:21:59","date_gmt":"2018-06-03T10:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gisgeography.com\/?p=17618"},"modified":"2025-04-04T05:32:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T10:32:54","slug":"wildfire-maps-real-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gisgeography.com\/wildfire-maps-real-time\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Wildfire Maps for Tracking Real-Time Forest Fires"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Active Fire Maps: Real-Time Forest Fires<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As wildfires ignite forests into ashes, orbiting satellites track where they burn and how severe they are. Specifically, satellites capture wildfires as they happen and stream this information in active fire maps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So in near real-time, decision-makers have critical information for saving money and preserving life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But which active fire maps can you track wildfires in real time? And which wildfires web services, shapefiles, and KML\/KMZ are available?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, what satellites are tracking forest fires in near real-time? And how can you see this satellite imagery for yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 15 Free Satellite Imagery Data Sources<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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1. Google Earth Pro<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Google Earth Pro<\/a> is a handy tool that helps you sight-see the planet. And the best part is that it’s never a cloudy day. Even though the imagery is usually less than a year old, chances are that you won’t see a forest fire in the application. But really, all it takes is some legwork to get started.<\/p>\n\n\n

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First, download the latest active fire data from NASA<\/a>. Next, drag and drop the KMZ into Google Earth Pro. As you can see above, the latest forest fires will pop up with fire symbols. If you want to see a snapshot of the fire, your best chance is to use a Landsat scene from the USGS Earth Explorer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, we have a tutorial on how to download Landsat data<\/a>. Select your area and time frame. Then, choose Landsat-8. The image type you want is Landsat Look with Geographic Reference (Data Sets > Landsat > Landsat Collection 2 Level 1 > Landsat 8-9 OLI\/TIRS)<\/strong>. Download it. Finally, drag and drop the Landsat image into Google Earth Pro without any extra processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you downloaded the correct date and time, you should be able to see the forest fire. As you can see below, here is a satellite view of the December 2017 wildfires in California. But you can apply this same idea anywhere in the world!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Not only is Google Earth Pro good for active forest fires but also for measuring the footprint of the burned area. It’s easy to get confused with clouds for Landsat images, so you can verify the fire with thermal infrared (TIR) and the KMZ.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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2. NASA’s Worldview and FIRMS<\/h3>\n\n\n