Help the San Francisco Chronicle keep the California Fire Tracker up to date and available to the public.

We map wildfires that are larger than 500 acres or have damaged buildings or caused injury or death. No fires meet that threshold at this time. Bookmark this page and check for updates.

An interactive map of wildfires burning across the Bay Area and California. Get breaking news and live updates here.

Description: The Cave Fire began November 25 and burned a total of 3,126 acres. There were no residences damaged or injuries to firefighters. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Description: The Maria fire ignited atop South Mountain, near the farming communities of Santa Paula and Somis.All evacuations have been lifted and all shelters are being demobilized.

Description: The fire burned about 150 acres, jumping Interstate 80 in Vallejo and sweeping east to west, spreading onto the 1,200-student campus of the California State University Maritime Academy.

Description: The Tick Fire burned 4,615 acres in Los Angeles, damaged or destroyed 49 structures, and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Description: What began as a prescribed burn became an active wildfire when high winds expanded the fire beyond the prescribed area.

Description: The Lime and Kidder 2 Fires were started by lightning on September 5. The fire is located south of Cottonwood Peak on the Happy Camp/Oak Knoll Ranger District.

Description: The fire remains 10,296 acres and at 85% containment. The western flank is in steep and inaccessible terrain in the John Muir Wilderness. Here the fire will be confined by either rain or snow or its spread will be stopped by rock barriers.

Description: This lightning-caused fire is burning in grass and juniper around Pinnacle Lake and is growing primarily to the east.

Description: The cause of a wildfire that burned over 2,000 acres in Lassen County is still under investigation.

Description: The W1 Fire started on August 8 2019 near Cold Springs Rd and McDonald Peak, 11 miles southeast of Madeline Lassen County. It has been contained after burning high desert grasses, brush and juniper.

Description: Seven structures were destroyed and two people suffered minor injuries after a rapidly spreading fire burned over 2,500 acres near the town of Guinda.

Description: The cause of the fire was determined to be by vehicle traffic on Highway 139. No structures were damaged or destroyed.

The California Fire Tracker is the go-to source for critical information. Help The Chronicle keep the tracker up to date and available to the public.

Methodology

Fires are labeled when they are larger than 500 acres, cause damage to property, or when people are injured or killed as a result of the fire.

Fire Perimeters

Fire perimeters are based on infrared and thermal imaging from NASA's MODIS and VIIRS-I products.

The perimeters are intended to provide a picture of the scope and extent of the fires in California, as well as parts of Nevada and Oregon, with the most current data possible. They are an approximation and do not include all areas affected by fire, nor do they indicate with certainty an area was affected. CalFire and others use this data to help identify fires and their hot spots. But because of the distance of the satellites, the nature of the measurements and obfuscation by smoke, the resolution is coarse and not 100 percent accurate.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) displays fire detection data and uses fire and thermal anomalies data compiled via MODIS satellites Terra and Aqua. Thermal information is collected at 1,000-meter spatial resolution. The identification of a "fire" by MODIS does not necessarily mean the entire area represented is on fire. The identification of a fire can be the result of a hot fire in a relatively small area or a cooler fire over a larger area. At this time, there is no way to discriminate between these two possibilities.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS-I) provides data from sensors aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite. The 375-meter spatial resolution provides a greater response over fires of relatively small areas and provides improved mapping of large fire perimeters. VIIRS-I also has improved nighttime performance.

Hot Spots

Hot spots are locations identified by satellite analysts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The hot spots are an approximation and do not include all areas affected by fire, nor do they indicate with certainty an area was affected. CalFire and others use this same data to help identify fires and their hot spots. But because of the distance of the satellites, the nature of the measurements and obfuscation by smoke, the resolution is coarse and not 100% accurate.

NOAA's Hazard Mapping System Fire and Smoke Product (HMS) is based on locations of fires and significant smoke plumes detected by meteorological satellites. Hot spots are updated between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. every 30 minutes, and otherwise as time permits. Hot spots should be considered points with no radius or resolution. The current map may contain hot spots up to 48 hours old.