Wildfires in Northern California Today
Live active-fire map for Northern California from NASA FIRMS satellite data. Where fires are burning right now — updated hourly. Typical fire season: June–November.
3 km/h from the W — carrying smoke towards the E.
15°C · 84% humidity
Air quality Extremely poor
PM2.5 108.0 µg/m³ this hour · EU AQI 124 · US AQI 185
Avoid outdoor exertion. Stay indoors with windows closed where possible.
The band above follows the European index, which averages particulates over 24 hours — so a sharp rise in this hour's PM2.5, as smoke passing overhead causes, shows up in the reading before it moves the band.
Wind direction only — not a smoke dispersion forecast. Air quality is modelled, not a street-level measurement. Weather from MET Norway; air quality from Open-Meteo (Copernicus CAMS). Both CC BY 4.0.
4 active fires in Northern California
Neighbouring detections grouped into single incidents, largest first.
- 1628 MW57 km NE of Eureka, California123 detections~8.5 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-15 10:26 UTC41.127, -123.642
- 280 MW59 km SW of Chico, California6 detectionslast seen 2026-08-14 22:08 UTC39.238, -122.109
- 367 MWRemote area37 detections~20.3 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-13 11:04 UTC39.843, -120.005
- 418 MW117 km NE of Sacramento, California8 detectionslast seen 2026-08-13 11:04 UTC39.178, -120.381
About this wildfire map
This map uses NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), which publishes active-fire detections from the VIIRS and MODIS instruments aboard NASA and NOAA satellites. Each dot is a thermal “hotspot” where the sensor measured fire-level heat, usually within 3 hours of the satellite passing overhead. It shows where fires are actively burning — not fire perimeters or evacuation zones. For safety and evacuation information, always follow your local emergency services.