Where to Find Wildfire Data: A Guide to Fire-Related Datasets

About This Page

I created this page to organize and share the wildfire-related datasets I've found useful in my research and professional work. These include satellite-derived fire detection products, fire radiative power (FRP) data, emission estimates, and other relevant geospatial resources from agencies such as NOAA, NASA, and ESA.

This guide is intended as a practical reference for anyone interested in wildfire data—whether you're working on fire detection, emissions modeling, remote sensing, or climate research. While this is not an exhaustive list, I will update it over time as I explore new sources.

If you know of a valuable dataset that isn’t listed here, feel free to contact me—I'm happy to expand the collection.

🌐 NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

JPSS – Joint Polar Satellite System (Global)

• JPSS on AWS Open Data Registry
• Sensors: VIIRS, CrIS, ATMS
• Coverage: Global
• Use Case: Fire detection, thermal anomalies, environmental monitoring.

GOES – Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-16 to GOES-19)

• GOES on AWS Open Data Registry
• Instruments: ABI
• Use Case: Near-real-time fire detection, smoke tracking.

HMS – Hazard Mapping System (U.S. only)

• NOAA HMS Fire Products
• Description: Fire locations and smoke plumes detected by analysts using satellite data (GOES, MODIS, VIIRS).
• Formats: Shapefiles, GeoJSON, KMZ
• Update Frequency: Daily
• Use Case: Fire situational awareness, smoke modeling.

GBBEPx – Global Biomass Burning Emissions Product (Global)

• The Blended Global Biomass Burning Emissions Product
• Description: Global daily estimates of fire radiative power (FRP) and emissions using satellite fire detections (MODIS, VIIRS, GOES).
• Format: Binary, HDF
• Use Case: Input to air quality models, aerosol forecasting.

NGFS – Next Generation Fire System

• NGFS Project Page
• NGFS Archive (GINA Alaska)
• SSEC File Repository
• Description: High-resolution fire detection and characterization using VIIRS and GOES. Focus on FRP accuracy and fire evolution.
• Use Case: Advanced fire detection, satellite product development, early warning.

CLASS – Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System

• NOAA CLASS Portal
• Description: Central access point for archived NOAA satellite products including VIIRS, MODIS, and more.
• Use Case: Download historical fire detections, imagery, and atmospheric products.

🚀 NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

FIRMS – Fire Information for Resource Management System

• FIRMS Viewer and Downloads
• Description: Near real-time and archived active fire data from MODIS and VIIRS.
• Formats: CSV, Shapefile, KML, WMS
• Update Frequency: Every 3–6 hours
• Tools: Fire alerts, API, Web viewer
• Use Case: Operational fire monitoring, research.

MODIS Active Fire Products (MOD14/MYD14, MCD14ML)

• Earthdata Search
• Use Case: Global fire trends, climatological studies, algorithm development.

VIIRS 375m Active Fire Products (VNP14IMG/VJ114IMG)

• VIIRS NRT on FIRMS
• Description: High-spatial resolution fire detections using thermal anomalies.
• Update Frequency: 3–6 hours
• Formats: CSV, KML, Shapefiles

GFED – Global Fire Emissions Database

• GFED Homepage
• Temporal Range: 1997–present
• Resolution: 0.25° x 0.25°
• Use Case: Emissions modeling, carbon accounting, global fire impact analysis.

QFED – Quick Fire Emissions Dataset

• QFED - High Resolution Global Fire Emissions
• QFED GitHub
• Description: NASA GMAO emissions product based on satellite-detected fire radiative power (FRP).
• Use Case: Forecasting smoke and pollutants in global models.

🗺️ Fire Perimeters and Burn Severity

MTBS – Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (U.S.)

• MTBS Download Portal
• Coverage: U.S. large wildfires since 1984
• Formats: Vector (shapefiles), Raster
• Use Case: Burn severity analysis, recovery assessment, historical trends.

Global Fire Atlas

• Andela et al., ESSD (2019)
• Description: Characterizes fire dynamics such as duration, spread, speed, and size at the global scale.
• Use Case: Fire behavior modeling, validation of fire spread models.

🌍 ESA: European Space Agency

ESA Fire CCI – Climate Change Initiative

• ESA Fire CCI Project
• Description: Burned area products based on European satellite observations.
• Use Case: Climate studies, long-term trends.

Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS)

• Copernicus EMS Portal
• Description: Satellite-based mapping service for disaster response including wildfires.
• Use Case: Emergency response, post-fire assessments, rapid damage evaluation.

✈️ Airborne Campaigns

Airborne campaigns provide critical in-situ and high-resolution remote sensing data to study fire emissions, plume rise, and validate satellite-based fire products.

NASA FireSense Project

• FireSense Overview (CCE)
• FireSense ESPO Page

FireSense 2023 Campaign

• MASTER: FireSense 2023 (ORNL DAAC)
• MASTER Data Files

FIREX-AQ – Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality

• FIREX-AQ Data Archive (ESPO)
• Description: 2019 joint NOAA/NASA mission focused on western U.S. wildfires.
• Instruments: Lidar, HR-ToF-CIMS, PTR-MS, AMOGS
• Use Case: Fire emissions, smoke chemistry, satellite validation.

MASTER – MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator

• MASTER Campaigns Overview
• MASTER Dataset List (ORNL)
• MASTER Data Index

📬 Contact

If you would like to contribute or suggest additional datasets or tools related to wildfires, please contact me. Collaboration and sharing are welcome!