Forest Fire Hotspots, 2001 - 2009

View this map

---

Abstract

A hotspot is a mark on an infrared satellite image indicating a heat source typical of burning vegetation. A hotspot may represent one fire or be one of several hotspots representing a larger fire. Hotspots are located and mapped as part of the Fire Monitoring, Mapping and Modeling System (Fire M3), which is a component of a national fire information system that identifies, monitors and maps large forest fires using the hotspots. It provides an overview of forest fire activity in Canada on a daily basis. This map shows all the hotspots that were detected in forest fire seasons since 2001.

---

What is a hotspot?

A hotspot is a high-intensity pixel on an infrared satellite image, indicating a heat source typical of burning vegetation. Each image pixel, and therefore each hotspot, represents one square kilometre on the ground. The fire within the hotspot may cover the entire area, or it may be as small as 0.001 square kilometre (about 30 by 30 metres). A hotspot may represent one fire or be one of several hotspots representing a larger fire.

Almost all hotspots indicate forest fires; however, some hotspots originate from other heat sources (typically industry related). Not all fires can be identified from satellite images, usually because of cloud cover.

[D]
Click for more information, 27 KB
Figure 1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA-16 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Satellite

Hotspots are collected and mapped as part of the Fire Monitoring, Mapping and Modeling System (Fire M3). This is a component of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), a national forest fire information system developed by Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service and the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing. This system identifies, monitors and maps large forest fires on a daily basis using satellite sensors. It provides an overview of current forest fire activity in Canada and is updated four times a day during the fire season. Hotspots and other satellite data are also used to estimate area burned. The use of remote sensing data is the only cost-effective way to provide a current and comprehensive overview of forest fire activity in a country the size of Canada.

The Fire M3 hotspots are obtained from three sources:

1. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery, from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service
2. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery, from the Department of Geography at the University of Maryland
3. Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) World Fire Atlas, from the European Space Agency.

More information on Fire M3 can be found on the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System Web site and also in References and Links.