Is there a fire near Sidney right now?
Wildfires near Sidney, BC
Updated
4 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 21 km W, 2 detections in the last 24 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 1:50 pm local (2026-11-01 20:50 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Sidney, British Columbia, Canada, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (America/Vancouver).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 4 last 24 h
- Nearest fire
- 21 km W 10 km W of Mill Bay
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 50 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 24 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 21 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- W 3 km/h gusts 3 km/h, humidity 80%
Fires near Sidney right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 50 thermal hotspots in 4 separate clusters within 80 km of Sidney, British Columbia, Canada in the last 24 h. The closest is 21 km W of the city centre (10 km W of Mill Bay), with 2 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 2 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
1 cluster is 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 64 km NW (24 km SW of Nanaimo) with 37 detections; first seen Sun 2 am and last seen Sun 1 pm local time.
Across Canada there are 73 fire clusters in the same window, 33 of them in British Columbia.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 km W of Mill Bay | 21 km W | 2 | 2 MW | Sun 4:02 am | Sun 4:02 am |
| 8 km SSW of Ladysmith | 44 km NW | 3 | 2 MW | Sun 4:02 am | Sun 4:02 am |
| 23 km SW of Ladysmith | 52 km WNW | 8 | 4 MW | Sun 2:21 am | Sun 4:02 am |
| 24 km SW of Nanaimo | 64 km NW | 37 | 21 MW | Sun 2:21 am | Sun 1:50 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Sidney is from the W at 3 km/h (gusts 3 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the E. Relative humidity is 80% and the temperature 4°C.
Sidney 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 Sidney 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.