These are the first firesat images to find wildfires from space
in Google I/O In May, Google revealed that it was We are working with the Earth Fire Alliance Above fishingA program that combines new high-resolution satellites with AI analysis to help identify wildfires in the early stages and knock them down before responders grow. This week, the Alliance released the first image captured by the first satellite, showing how to detect from space that fire as small as 5 x 5 meters is the size of a classroom.
Firesat identified this small roadside fire in Oregon in June 2025.
Existing satellite systems scan for fires, but with a more coarser resolution. In one image from Oregon, a small roadside fire appeared as bright spots using MWIR (medium wave infrared) thermal sensing imaging. According to the alliance, it was not detected in other space-based systems.
With up to six infrared channels, Firesat can detect new and hot burns, as well as hot burns from previous fires, as shown in this June 15 image in Ontario, Canada.
This example from Ontario, Canada on June 15, 2025 shows a new flame detected using the Nipigon 6 Fire, MWIR spectrum, but shows how LWIR (long wave infrared) was used in 2020 to identify areas left from previous burns. At the bottom, SWIR (short wave infrared), NIR (near infrared), and false-colored composites of visible red channels help to track the life cycle of fire.
Currently, the Earth Fire Alliance has one protophyte satellite built by Muon Space, with heights for testing. With three satellites in orbit, FireSat can scan locations around the world twice a day. And if the program is fully operational, it is expected that in 2030, networks of over 50 satellites will reduce that time to 20 minutes. For areas that are prone to fire, the interval will be every 9-12 minutes.
One of the key reasons why Google is involved in the Alliance is to organize the vast amount of data it generates. Muon Space estimates that each satellite covers 109 million square kilometers per day and covers the multispectral equipment of each satellite record across six channels. With the assistance of Google’s AI and software, the program must rule out false positives. AI plays a bigger role in fighting wildfires all over the world – NASA uses a huge mountain of Landsat satellite data Next, we will construct a predictive model for locations where a fire is likely to occur.
“There are millions of things that can be mistaken for a fire,” said Chris van Arsdale, chairman of the boards of Google Research Climate and Energy Lead and the Earth Fire Alliance. “Searching for fire will be a game of searching for needles in the haystack world.”
As seen in this example showing Alaska on June 21, FireSat can find wildfires in faraway areas.
It is also important to prioritize fires that the crew can handle. June 21, 2025, images from a remote Alaska show fires that cannot be observed by ground-based sources.
Firesat image composite showing Australian wildfires.
In this image, from July 11, 2025, from Bollolura, Australia’s Northern Territory, Firesat satellites identified multiple wildfires spreading in the distance.
The Earth Fire Alliance is now working with some fire departments and other early recruits to help you analyze your data and determine the best way to communicate with responders.
“What you’re looking at now is raw images that help engineers, scientists (and) remote sensors,” said Kate Dargan Marquis, former California fire marshall and senior wildfire advisor to the Earth Fire Alliance, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “But in the case of firefighters, we build a fire data product on this data.” This includes map-based tools with an AI foundation that helps them understand where and how they can make fire response decisions, she pointed out.
Firesat satellites and the people who built it.
Data will ultimately be available for public resources, such as those used in the consumer app’s watch mandate. Earth Fire Alliance executive director Brian Collins explained that the current early adopter program includes routes that determine how to spread the information being collected. “The highly informed public can make decisions before they are told (when they prepare to evacuate, etc.),” he said.
Firesat is still in its first stage and is not considered operational until the three satellites enter orbit, but in 2026, early data and images are considered to be a promising tool to combat wildfires around the world.