français
Español
GFIMS
Global Fire Information Management System

KML/Google Earth

Active fire/hotspot KML
 

Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is available for the last 24 hours and 48 hours. The KML are updated every hour starting at 01:00 ET (USA). An auto-updating KML is also available for visualization of MODIS active fire/hotspot detections for most parts of the world for the last 24 hours. The KML automatically refreshes every 2 hours and downloads the latest available MODIS active fire/hotspot detections.

Active fire/hotspot KML time series
 

GFIMS is offering an experimental version of MODIS KML time series showing active fire/hotspot detections by animating the location of fires that have occurred in the region in the last 48 hours.

There are a few issues to keep in mind:

  1. Time is in UTC.
  2. The MODIS sensor, on board the Terra and Aqua satellites, both circle the earth 2 times a day (morning and afternoon), This means there are 4 observations of active fire/hotspot detections throughout the day. This information does NOT represent fires occurring at all times over the last 48 hours, but at 4 periods of a given day.
  3. The satellites circle the earth at a steady rate, and it only captures swaths of information at a time. This means that if the satellite captures a fire in Australia, it does not necessarily mean that there is not a fire occurring in the US, it’s just that the satellite is capturing fire information over Australia at that moment.
  4. Active fire/hotspot detections represent the center of a 1km pixel. The fire is not necessarily 1km in size, nor is it the exact location of the fire event.

For further information regarding MODIS active fire/hotspot detections, please visit the FAQ section.

Regional extents
Regional extents

Downloadable files by extent
World 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Alaska 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Australia and New Zealand 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Canada 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Central America 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Congo Basin 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Europe 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Mozambique 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Namibia 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Northern Africa 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Russian Federation and Asia 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
South America 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
South Asia 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
South East Asia 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
Southern Africa 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series
U.S.A (Conterminous) and Hawaii 24 Hours 48 Hours Time Series

To download the KML files, simply click on the link for the auto updating KML, 24 Hours, 48 Hours or Time Series. A download box will appear, with options to open or save the KML. If you have Google™ Earth installed, you can open it directly and view the fires on Google™ Earth. Otherwise, you can save it to your local disk for later viewing.

To view a downloaded KML file in Google™ Earth at any time, double click on the KML file on your local disk. It will automatically open in Google™ Earth.