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How many fires does the satellite see over the Western Cape?

31heat spots 28 Oct · Highest

Some days are quiet. On busy days the satellite picks up twelve or more heat spots.

Heat spots seen from space each day
heat spots 14 Oct: 6 heat spots 14 Oct 6 15 Oct: 7 heat spots 15 Oct 7 16 Oct: 2 heat spots 16 Oct 2 17 Oct: 1 heat spots 17 Oct 1 18 Oct: 2 heat spots 18 Oct 2 19 Oct: 10 heat spots 19 Oct 10 20 Oct: 9 heat spots 20 Oct 9 21 Oct: 1 heat spots 21 Oct 1 22 Oct: 3 heat spots 22 Oct 3 23 Oct: 8 heat spots 23 Oct 8 24 Oct: 14 heat spots 24 Oct 14 25 Oct: 4 heat spots 25 Oct 4 26 Oct: 8 heat spots 26 Oct 8 27 Oct: 12 heat spots 27 Oct 12 28 Oct: 31 heat spots 28 Oct 31 29 Oct: 19 heat spots 29 Oct 19 30 Oct: 9 heat spots 30 Oct 9 31 Oct: 5 heat spots 31 Oct 5 1 Nov: 2 heat spots 1 Nov 2 2 Nov: 4 heat spots 2 Nov 4

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View data table
Observationheat spots
14 Oct6
15 Oct7
16 Oct2
17 Oct1
18 Oct2
19 Oct10
20 Oct9
21 Oct1
22 Oct3
23 Oct8
24 Oct14
25 Oct4
26 Oct8
27 Oct12
28 Oct31
29 Oct19
30 Oct9
31 Oct5
1 Nov2
2 Nov4
Source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS 375 m) · 14 Oct 2026 – 2 Nov 2026 · All bars start at zero
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Method and sources

One bar per day: the number of VIIRS thermal detections recorded over the Western Cape search area on that date, at 375 m resolution. A detection is a hot pixel, not a confirmed fire, and one fire front can produce several. Cloud hides fires from the satellite, so a low count can mean a quiet day or an overcast one.

NASA FIRMS VIIRS detections, 2026-10-14 to 2026-11-02.

Chart updated · 2 Nov 2026. The observation dates above describe the data, not today’s conditions.

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