Is there a fire near Koidu right now?

Wildfires near Koidu

Updated

2 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 65 km W, 1 detection in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:22 pm local (2026-10-25 14:22 UTC).

Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Koidu, Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Freetown).

Fire clusters within 80 km
2 last 48 h
Nearest fire
65 km W 65 km W of Koidu
Hotspot detections nearby
2 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
Strongest fire radiative power
5 MW low-intensity
Wind now
WSW 4 km/h gusts 10 km/h, humidity 78%

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Fires near Koidu right now

NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 2 thermal hotspots in 2 separate clusters within 80 km of Koidu, Eastern Province, Sierra Leone in the last 48 h. The closest is 65 km W of the city centre (65 km W of Koidu), with 1 detection and a peak fire radiative power of 3 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.

None of the clusters is within 25 km of the centre, so the city itself is not in the immediate fire area, but smoke can travel hundreds of kilometres.

Every nearby cluster is low intensity (peak under 10 MW), which is typical of agricultural or garden burning, industrial heat sources such as steel works or flares, or small fires rather than a spreading wildfire.

Across Sierra Leone there are 5 fire clusters in the same window, 2 of them in Eastern Province.

Fire clusterFrom cityDetectionsPeak FRPFirst seenLast seen
65 km W of Koidu65 km W13 MWSun 2:22 pmSun 2:22 pm
13 km NE of Kenema78 km S15 MWSun 2:22 pmSun 2:22 pm

Smoke and wind

Wind at Koidu is from the WSW at 4 km/h (gusts 10 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the ENE. Relative humidity is 78% and the temperature 26°C.

Koidu is roughly downwind of the nearest fire, so smoke and haze are likely; check the air quality page before spending time outdoors.

Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Koidu 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.