Are there wildfires in Washington right now?

NASA's FIRMS satellites detected 1021 active fire hotspots in Washington State over the last 3 days, including 31 high-intensity fires. The map on this page shows their exact locations, updated hourly.

How does NASA detect wildfires?

NASA's VIIRS and MODIS instruments aboard the Suomi NPP, NOAA-20 and Terra/Aqua satellites detect thermal anomalies (heat signatures) from orbit. Each detection is a "hotspot" — a pixel where the sensor measured fire-level heat. Data is published within about 3 hours of the satellite overpass through the FIRMS system.

What does fire intensity (FRP) mean?

FRP (Fire Radiative Power, in megawatts) measures how much energy a fire is releasing. Higher FRP means a more intense fire. On this map, brighter red dots are higher-intensity detections.

Wildfires in Washington Today

Name: Active Wildfires in Washington
Creator: NASA
Published: 2024-01-01
License: https://www.nasa.gov/open/
Keywords: wildfires, fires washington, NASA FIRMS, active fire map, VIIRS

Live active-fire map for Washington State from NASA FIRMS satellite data. Where fires are burning right now — updated hourly. Typical fire season: July–October.

1021

Active hotspots

High intensity

Time window

VIIRS

NASA sensor

LowMedHigh

Conditions at Remote area

10 km/h from the SSE — carrying smoke towards the NNW.

25°C · 22% humidity

Air quality Extremely poor

PM2.5 136.4 µg/m³ this hour · EU AQI 300 · US AQI 399

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.

11 active fires in Washington

Neighbouring detections grouped into single incidents, largest first.

1
Remote area
589 detections~43.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:11 UTC47.985, -120.528
11107 MW
2
91 km NW of Spokane, Washington
165 detections~23.3 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:11 UTC48.196, -118.340
1629 MW
3
Remote area
123 detections~20.7 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:13 UTC45.648, -118.200
332 MW
4
Remote area
35 detections~6.8 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:13 UTC46.010, -118.000
274 MW
5
Remote area
39 detections~6.5 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 11:49 UTC48.971, -121.066
224 MW
6
Remote area
15 detections~17 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:11 UTC48.257, -119.039
59 MW
7
74 km NW of Spokane, Washington
9 detections~10.2 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:11 UTC48.117, -118.140
54 MW
8
60 km NE of Portland, Oregon
10 detections~2.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-08-05 10:13 UTC45.883, -122.118
50 MW
9
92 km NW of Spokane, Washington
6 detectionslast seen 2026-08-05 10:11 UTC48.371, -118.056
47 MW
10
Remote area
4 detectionslast seen 2026-08-05 10:11 UTC48.288, -118.827
27 MW

Plus 13 smaller heat detections — often agricultural burning rather than wildfire.

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.

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