Tracking Wildfire Trends As Fire Seasons Heat Up

Where Are Fires Burning?

GFW allows users to pinpoint where fires are actively burning. Fire alerts from the past three months are displayed on the GFW map in clusters, with darker reds indicating a higher concentration of alerts.

Users can select any 3-month date range extending back to 2012 to view specific historical fires as well. The Australian wildfires from the end of 2019, for example, have a distinct signature in the data.

The GFW dashboard can also provide analysis of where the most significant number of fires have been burning over the past four weeks, allowing users to quickly focus on the areas of highest concern.

In Brazil, relaxed measures against forest clearing have already resulted in increased fires in recent years, and the pandemic has heightened concerns of unchecked destruction this year. Earlier this year Brazil’s National Institute for Space and Research (INPE) called for immediate fire prevention actions, citing “demand for hospitalizations due to respiratory problems induced by fires increases concomitantly with the COVID-19 pandemic, a worsening and possible collapse of public health is expected in several states, including those belonging to the Brazilian Amazon.” Fires are persisting, despite a 120-day ban on burning imposed last month.

Using the significant fires visualization, which shows how current fires compare statistically to the historical average, we can see which Brazilian states are currently experiencing higher than usual levels of fire— a sign of where air pollution from active fires has the greatest potential to exacerbate the impacts of the pandemic.

Are We In Peak Fire Season?

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States, the US Forest Service suspended controlled burns across several western states, and many routine fire prevention projects had to be cancelled or postponed as officials worried at the ability of firefighters to maintain social distance in training camps.

The US fire season spans the summer months, but GFW’s weekly fire alert calculation can give a more specific picture of how regional fire seasons typically shape up over the course of the year, helping keep a closer eye on how the fire season is playing out this year. The season usually peaks in August or September but the chart below shows current California fires are well above normal even for August.