Is there a fire near Qualicum Beach right now?
Wildfires near Qualicum Beach, BC
Updated
7 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 30 km SW, 3 detections in the last 24 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Wed 3:04 pm local (2026-10-28 22:04 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/Vancouver).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 7 last 24 h
- Nearest fire
- 30 km SW 15 km SSE of Port Alberni
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 46 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 24 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 72 MW moderate
- Wind now
- ESE 12 km/h gusts 20 km/h, humidity 85%
Fires near Qualicum Beach right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 46 thermal hotspots in 7 separate clusters within 80 km of Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada in the last 24 h. The closest is 30 km SW of the city centre (15 km SSE of Port Alberni), with 3 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 8 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.
The largest nearby cluster by detections is 69 km SSE (34 km WSW of Duncan) with 28 detections; first seen Wed 3 am and last seen Wed 3 pm local time.
Across Canada there are 35 fire clusters in the same window, 18 of them in British Columbia.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 km SSE of Port Alberni | 30 km SW | 3 | 8 MW | Wed 1:23 pm | Wed 3:04 pm |
| 27 km SSW of Nanoose Bay | 33 km S | 1 | 13 MW | Wed 3:04 pm | Wed 3:04 pm |
| 29 km SSW of Nanoose Bay | 38 km SSE | 1 | 8 MW | Wed 3:04 pm | Wed 3:04 pm |
| 18 km W of Ladysmith | 47 km SE | 8 | 26 MW | Wed 3:38 am | Wed 1:24 pm |
| 12 km WSW of Ladysmith | 56 km SE | 1 | 5 MW | Wed 3:38 am | Wed 3:38 am |
| 43 km WSW of Ladysmith | 58 km S | 4 | 15 MW | Wed 1:23 pm | Wed 1:24 pm |
| 34 km WSW of Duncan | 69 km SSE | 28 | 72 MW | Wed 3:38 am | Wed 3:04 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Qualicum Beach is from the ESE at 12 km/h (gusts 20 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the WNW. Relative humidity is 85% and the temperature 8°C.
Qualicum Beach 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 Qualicum Beach 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.
CIFFC (ciffc.net) publishes the national wildfire situation; provincial fire status and evacuation alerts come from BC Wildfire Service (bcwildfire.ca). Alertable and local emergency alerts carry evacuation orders.
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.