Is there a fire near Kafue right now?
Wildfires near Kafue
Updated
38 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 3 km WSW, 1 detection in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:34 pm local (2026-10-25 12:34 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Kafue, Lusaka Province, Zambia, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Lusaka).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 38 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 3 km WSW 3 km WSW of Kafue
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 160 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 37 MW moderate
Fires near Kafue right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 160 thermal hotspots in 38 separate clusters within 80 km of Kafue, Lusaka Province, Zambia in the last 48 h. The closest is 3 km WSW of the city centre (3 km WSW of Kafue), with 1 detection and a peak fire radiative power of 6 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
4 clusters are within 25 km, close enough that smoke, ash or road closures may affect the city. Distances are measured from the city centre to the nearest detection, not to the fire's edge.
The largest nearby cluster by detections is 20 km ESE (28 km ESE of Kafue) with 36 detections; first seen Sat 2 am and last seen Sun 2 pm local time.
Across Zambia there are 1,046 fire clusters in the same window, 80 of them in Lusaka Province.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 km WSW of Kafue | 3 km WSW | 1 | 6 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 16 km WNW of Kafue | 16 km WNW | 1 | 4 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sat 1:13 pm |
| 19 km SW of Kafue | 19 km SW | 1 | 7 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 28 km ESE of Kafue | 20 km ESE | 36 | 37 MW | Sat 2:20 am | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 31 km ENE of Kafue | 29 km ENE | 3 | 4 MW | Sat 2:20 am | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 34 km SSE of Kafue | 29 km SSE | 3 | 7 MW | Sat 2:20 am | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 29 km NNE of Mazabuka | 30 km WNW | 12 | 17 MW | Sat 2:51 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 9 km S of Lusaka | 33 km NNE | 1 | 1 MW | Sun 2:03 am | Sun 2:03 am |
| 39 km SSE of Kafue | 36 km SSE | 5 | 6 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sun 2:03 am |
| 41 km E of Kafue | 38 km E | 2 | 5 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sat 1:13 pm |
| 44 km SE of Kafue | 41 km SE | 7 | 11 MW | Sat 2:51 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 42 km ESE of Kafue | 41 km ESE | 6 | 17 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sun 2:03 am |
| 8 km WNW of Lusaka | 43 km N | 1 | 3 MW | Sat 2:51 pm | Sat 2:51 pm |
| 12 km WSW of Chunga | 45 km N | 1 | 2 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sat 1:13 pm |
| 12 km SSE of Mazabuka | 45 km WSW | 2 | 7 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
Smoke and wind
Current wind data was unavailable for this page; smoke generally drifts with the wind, so check local conditions.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Kafue air quality page has the live reading.
Evacuations and official information
GodsView shows satellite detections only. It does not know fire perimeters, containment or evacuation zones. Always follow evacuation orders from local authorities.
The Global Wildfire Information System, GWIS (gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu), maps fire danger and burnt areas worldwide; evacuation orders come from national civil protection and local authorities.
About satellite fire detections
Satellite thermal hotspots are not all wildfires: gas flares, steel works, volcanoes and planned agricultural or prescribed burns show up too. VIIRS passes over most places about twice a day, so a fire can start or grow between passes, and thick smoke or cloud can hide one.
Fire radiative power (FRP) is the heat a fire gives off, in megawatts per pixel: under 10 MW is usually a small or smouldering fire, over 100 MW an intense flaming front.
Wildfires near other cities
More for this area
Data: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS active fires), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.