Is there a fire near Townsville right now?
Bushfires near Townsville, QLD
Updated
2 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 42 km SW, 1 detection in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:06 pm local (2026-10-25 04:06 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Townsville, Queensland, Australia, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Australia/Brisbane).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 2 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 42 km SW 42 km SW of Townsville
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 5 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 11 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- NE 2 km/h gusts 7 km/h, humidity 81%
Fires near Townsville right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 5 thermal hotspots in 2 separate clusters within 80 km of Townsville, Queensland, Australia in the last 48 h. The closest is 42 km SW of the city centre (42 km SW of Townsville), with 1 detection and a peak fire radiative power of 6 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 75 km SSE (76 km SSE of Townsville) with 4 detections; first seen Sat 2 pm and last seen Sat 2 pm local time.
Across Australia there are 313 fire clusters in the same window, 80 of them in Queensland.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 km SW of Townsville | 42 km SW | 1 | 6 MW | Sun 2:06 pm | Sun 2:06 pm |
| 76 km SSE of Townsville | 75 km SSE | 4 | 11 MW | Sat 2:23 pm | Sat 2:23 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Townsville is from the NE at 2 km/h (gusts 7 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the SW. Relative humidity is 81% and the temperature 26°C.
Townsville 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 Townsville 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.
Bushfire warnings in Australia are issued by state services; here that is Queensland Fire Department (fire.qld.gov.au). Follow the Australian Warning System levels (Advice, Watch and Act, Emergency Warning).
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.