The red boundary shown on the map represents an approximate area impacted by wildfire.
Yellow shading shows approximate areas where active fires are less certain. Wildfire detection relies on thermal imagery captured by satellite sensors, which identify heat anomalies and changes in landscape patterns.
Due to limitations in the spatial resolutions of the instruments, the systems may underestimate the true extent of wildfires. Additionally, wildfires can often persist as hidden hotspots and even reignite days after they’re extinguished, which can pose ongoing danger. Follow guidance from local authorities as conditions evolve.
The boundaries aren’t an evacuation zone, nor are they a boundary of burned or unburned areas. If you are in the affected area, please check real-time updates from your local fire and law enforcement agency.
We generate fire alerts with a deep learning model that tracks fire boundaries with real-time satellite imagery. The model is based on superresolution image fusion of hyperspectral imagery from third-party satellites like:
- GOES-16
- GOES-18
- GK2A
- Himawari-9, Meteosat-9, and Meteosat-11 from EUMETSAT [2023]
- Aqua and Terra with MODIS imager
- S-NPP and JPSS-1 with VIIRS imager
With processing and publishing time associated with the satellite imagery, we’re able to refresh the wildfire map up to every hour. However, updates may be less frequent based on the fire’s location and the data availability. To verify the freshness of the data, you can find a timestamp included with the map that provides you the time of the last update. If there has not been a significant change in movement on the outside perimeter of the fire, the map may look unchanged for some time - the date and time provided with the map will show when it was last generated. Please note, this map does not replace on-the-ground announcements from your local fire agency.
Important: In areas where fires burn mostly small fuel, like grass, it may be difficult for satellites to pick up heat. Lines may not be drawn around these areas as a result. In the future, we hope to add additional satellite data to offer higher resolution maps of the affected area.
Australia, Canada, Mexico & the United States
Our maps and impacted area assessments have an on-the-ground resolution of around 4 to 6 kilometers or 2.5 to 3.7 miles, or slightly higher. This is based on where the fire occurs.
Other coverage
Our maps and impacted area assessments in other countries have an on-the-ground resolution of around 2 to 3 kilometers or 1.2 to 1.8 miles, or slightly higher. This is based on where the fire occurs.
Currently, we can only provide wildfire boundary coverage for large fires where we have satellite coverage and sufficient confidence in the data’s accuracy.
Boundaries may be available when Google launches:
- An SOS alert. Learn more about SOS alerts.
- A fire alert. Learn more about fire alerts.
As additional fire-relevant satellite data comes online in the future, we hope to bring these maps to more areas.
Being prepared for a wildfire includes having a preparedness kit ready, identifying local authorities and alerting systems that can offer more real-time information about a fire, and knowing what to do and where to go during an emergency. If you are in the affected area, please look for updates from your local authorities for instruction.