Is there a fire near Thika right now?

Wildfires near Thika

Updated

3 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 12 km WSW, 2 detections in the last 24 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 Thika, Nairobi County, Kenya, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Nairobi).

Fire clusters within 80 km
3 last 24 h
Nearest fire
12 km WSW 7 km NW of Juja
Hotspot detections nearby
4 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 24 h
Strongest fire radiative power
10 MW low-intensity
Wind now
WNW 3 km/h gusts 8 km/h, humidity 95%

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Fires near Thika right now

NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 4 thermal hotspots in 3 separate clusters within 80 km of Thika, Nairobi County, Kenya in the last 24 h. The closest is 12 km WSW of the city centre (7 km NW of Juja), with 2 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 10 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.

Across Kenya there are 13 fire clusters in the same window.

Fire clusterFrom cityDetectionsPeak FRPFirst seenLast seen
7 km NW of Juja12 km WSW210 MWSun 1:58 pmSun 1:58 pm
26 km SE of Naivasha54 km WNW110 MWSun 1:58 pmSun 1:58 pm
22 km SW of Mwala57 km SSE13 MWSun 1:58 pmSun 1:58 pm

Smoke and wind

Wind at Thika is from the WNW at 3 km/h (gusts 8 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the ESE. Relative humidity is 95% and the temperature 17°C.

Thika 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 Thika 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.