Is there a fire near Nakuru right now?

Wildfires near Nakuru

Updated

2 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 76 km S, 1 detection in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 1:58 pm local (2026-10-25 10:58 UTC).

Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Nakuru, Nakuru County, Kenya, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Nairobi).

Fire clusters within 80 km
2 last 48 h
Nearest fire
76 km S 44 km SW of Naivasha
Hotspot detections nearby
2 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
Strongest fire radiative power
16 MW low-intensity
Wind now
NNW 7 km/h gusts 14 km/h, humidity 71%

Open on the live map

Fires near Nakuru right now

NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 2 thermal hotspots in 2 separate clusters within 80 km of Nakuru, Nakuru County, Kenya in the last 48 h. The closest is 76 km S of the city centre (44 km SW of Naivasha), with 1 detection and a peak fire radiative power of 16 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.

Across Kenya there are 30 fire clusters in the same window, 2 of them in Nakuru County.

Fire clusterFrom cityDetectionsPeak FRPFirst seenLast seen
44 km SW of Naivasha76 km S116 MWSun 1:58 pmSun 1:58 pm
52 km SE of Eldoret76 km NW12 MWSat 2:17 pmSat 2:17 pm

Smoke and wind

Wind at Nakuru is from the NNW at 7 km/h (gusts 14 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the SSE. Relative humidity is 71% and the temperature 19°C.

Nakuru is not directly downwind of the nearest fire at the moment, though winds shift and plumes from larger fires can still reach the city.

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