About Wildfires in Europe

Wildfires in Europe shows on a single map where satellites are currently measuring heat sources across Europe, filtered and explained in plain language. The site is made for travellers, campers and homeowners who want to know quickly whether something is happening in their holiday area.

Why this site exists

NASA's raw satellite data and the official European fire data are public, but barely readable for an ordinary visitor: technical, without context and full of heat sources that are not wildfires at all (refineries, steel plants, solar farms, gas flares). This site combines those sources, filters out the known industrial noise and puts the result on understandable maps per country, region and island.

Who is behind it

The site is made and maintained by Jan-Wolter Smit, on his own initiative and without any commission from a government, tourist board or emergency service. Questions, corrections and reports reach him directly. Profile on LinkedIn.

Independence and funding

There are no advertisers and no paid listings: which fires or areas you see is determined by the data alone. Server and data costs are carried by the maker, supplemented by voluntary donations from visitors. A donation gives no influence over the content.

How we handle the data

• Every dot on the map is a satellite measurement, not a confirmed fire. We say so explicitly everywhere.
• Detections that can be found independently in the European EFFIS system get a separate marking.
• Known industrial sites and solar farms are excluded; remaining isolated detections are flagged as probably false rather than quietly removed.
• When in doubt we choose restraint over alarm: we never write that an area is "safe" or "unsafe", only what the data shows.

The full technical account is on Sources and method.

Editorial articles

News reports and guides are written by Jan-Wolter Smit, based on satellite data, official statements from emergency services and national media. Articles carry a date and are updated as the situation changes. Found a mistake? Report it via the contact page — corrections are made as quickly as possible. The news section itself is currently published in Dutch only.

Important caveat

This site is a tool, not an emergency channel. In case of danger, always follow the instructions of local emergency services and the official alert systems: FR-Alert in France, ES-Alert in Spain, IT-Alert in Italy and 112 across Europe.