Copernicus EMS Rapid Mapping Activated for Wildfire in England

On Sunday, 24 June, a fire began in Saddleworth Moor, East of Manchester, England. The fire faded over the evening, but re-ignited on Monday. Due to the dry landscape, winds have carried the fire approximately 6 km from its starting point. According to media, 150 homes have been evacuated while firefighters and military forces have been working diligently to put out the fire.

On 27 June, the government of the United Kingdom activated the EMS to produce daily delineation maps, showing the extent of the burn scar and a grading map once the fire is extinct. The first delineation map, based on Landsat-8 imagery, shows that close to 900 hectares have been affected. A second map, produced using SPOT Very High Resolution imagery, was released one day later. Further image acquisitions are scheduled in the coming days. The maps delivered are available on the EMS website: Activation EMSR291. For further updates on this activation, follow Copernicus EMS on Twitter.

The Copernicus EMS EFFIS fire awareness and monitoring system had forecasted a very high wildfire risk for parts of the UK, and has been monitoring the fire since its ignition using coarse resolution remote sensing data (VIIRS and MODIS satellites). More information is available in the EFFIS situation viewer.

A delineation map of Mossley, England, shows nearly 900 ha affected by the wildfire (Copernicus EMS © 2018 EU, [EMSR291]  Delineation Map)

The smoke from the wildfire is shown originating in Saddleworth, then crossing Manchester and Liverpool before  reaching into the Irish Sea (Credit – NASA)

For more information contact

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