WildfireSignal Data Sources
WildfireSignal combines several public wildfire datasets, but they do not mean the same thing. Satellite heat, agency incident reports, fire perimeters and Copernicus burned-area data are kept separate so each source can be read in the right context.
Three different kinds of wildfire data
The map keeps these categories separate because a satellite heat signal, an agency incident report, and a Copernicus fire area answer different questions.
Satellite heat
NASA FIRMSShows recent VIIRS thermal detections around the world. A dot means a satellite observed heat; it does not by itself confirm a named wildfire.
Agency incident reports
U.S., Canada and supported Australia feedsProvides reported fire names, locations and agency fields where available. Coverage, fields and update timing differ by reporting system.
Fire-area records
Copernicus GWISAdds Copernicus burned-area records for most international country pages. Qualifying fires are retained through the season so stable detail pages can remain available.
Map context and place labels
OpenStreetMapProvides the interactive map basemap and conservative nearby locality labels for some Copernicus records. Place labels do not create or imply an official incident name.
Source catalog
Each source below has a defined role. WildfireSignal does not merge them into one implied official incident count.
NASA FIRMS
Worldwide- Used for
- Satellite heat detections and heat-intensity map layers.
- Important limit
- Thermal detections can include non-wildfire heat sources, and one wildfire can create many detections.
WFIGS / NIFC
United States- Used for
- Current U.S. wildfire names, reported locations, acreage, containment, update times, and perimeter geometry when available.
- Important limit
- Agency records can change, lag field conditions, or omit a perimeter. A mapped perimeter is not an evacuation boundary.
Copernicus GWIS
Most international country pages- Used for
- Rolling seven-day and current fire-season burned-area data, source dates, fire-area estimates and stable international fire pages.
- Important limit
- A Copernicus fire area is not automatically a named official incident, current flame edge, containment estimate, or evacuation zone.
OpenStreetMap
Interactive map context and international place labels- Used for
- Interactive map tiles plus conservative reverse geocoding of some Copernicus event centers into approximate nearby locality and region labels.
- Important limit
- The basemap is geographic context only. Place labels are approximate and do not create an official incident name, fire perimeter, evacuation zone, or statement about active flames.
Canada active-fire data
Canada- Used for
- Current agency-reported Canadian wildfire records shown separately from NASA satellite heat.
- Important limit
- Provincial and territorial reporting schedules vary; local authorities remain the source for emergency instructions.
Esri World Imagery
Selected social-media artwork- Used for
- Satellite basemap imagery used in some generated WildfireSignal social cards, with provider credit embedded in the artwork.
- Important limit
- The basemap is contextual imagery, not live fire imagery and not an official fire boundary. Esri and underlying imagery-provider terms and attribution apply.
Australian official fire feeds
Supported Australian jurisdictions- Used for
- Current incident records from supported state fire and emergency services, shown separately from satellite heat.
- Important limit
- Availability differs by jurisdiction and public feed. State emergency authorities remain the primary warning source.
Attribution and provider terms
WildfireSignal is independent from its data providers. Source names are shown for attribution, not endorsement.
Copernicus
International fire-area views contain modified Copernicus Service information 2026. EFFIS/GWIS source material is credited and linked so readers can inspect the underlying service and license.
EFFIS data license ↗OpenStreetMap
Interactive maps display visible OpenStreetMap contributor attribution. Approximate place labels may also use OpenStreetMap data and are identified as descriptive geographic context.
OpenStreetMap copyright ↗Esri imagery
Some social artwork uses Esri World Imagery as a contextual basemap. WildfireSignal embeds the returned Esri and imagery-provider credit in the generated image.
Esri attribution guidance ↗Freshness, fallback and safety
Different providers update on different schedules, so WildfireSignal shows source timestamps and preserves usable last-known data when a feed is temporarily unavailable.
Update times differ by source
Satellite observations, agency updates, fire perimeters and burned-area data do not refresh at the same time. Read the timestamp attached to the information you are using.
Missing is not zero
If a source or region cannot be checked completely, WildfireSignal labels the coverage as loading, cached, partial or unavailable instead of turning a failed request into a zero-fire result.
Emergency information comes first
WildfireSignal is an informational map. Evacuations, road closures and immediate safety instructions must come from the responsible local authority.
Why wildfire numbers can differ
Wildfire datasets answer different questions. An agency incident record may report operational acreage and containment; a published perimeter is a mapped boundary from a particular time; Copernicus records burned area; NASA FIRMS records thermal detections. Their values can differ without one source necessarily being wrong because the products measure different things and update on different schedules.
For current operational facts, use the responsible agency. Use WildfireSignal to compare source timestamps, retained changes, maps and cross-source context without merging the products into one implied official total.