Wildland Fires in Georgia

Heavy smoke emanated from wildland fires in Georgia as the NOAA-21 satellite passed over on April 21, 2026. In this view combining datasets from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), a true-color corrected reflectance image is overlaid with the fires and thermal anomalies layers. 

This false-color corrected reflectance image (bands M11-I2-I1) reveals the active fire fronts of the two fires, shown in a vibrant red. The fire on the left is the Pineland Road Fire, while the Highway 82 fire in on the right. According to government and media accounts, both fires had the potential to threaten railroad infrastructure and other structures, and some evacuations and road closures were in effect. Low humidity, extreme drought, and strong winds exacerbated the spread of the fires. 

Press the Play button in the lower left corner to view the movement of the smoke plumes from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT on April 21, 2026. 

The data come from the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument. TEMPO measures sunlight reflected and scattered off the Earth’s surface, clouds, and atmosphere. Various gases absorb sunlight, and the resulting spectra are then used to determine the amounts of those gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. 

In this view, we see concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, which is primarily produced by the burning of fossil fuels for transportation, power generation, and industrial activity, but also from wildland fires. Nitrogen dioxide is itself a toxic gas that plays an important role in the formation of ground-level ozone and particulate matter pollution. These pollutants are harmful to both human and ecosystem health.

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