SCOPE › Measure a burn scar from space
Measure a burn scar from space
Burned ground has an unmistakable spectral signature in the short-wave infrared bands, which is why fire is the change type SCOPE detects most reliably — 83% of the wildfire cases in its own benchmark.
A real example
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
Comparing June–July 2023 with mid-August to September 2023, SCOPE measured 245 hectares of burnt ground after the August 2023 fire.
Who uses this
How SCOPE measures it
- Sentinel-2 optical imagery at 10 m. Every usable image in each period is cloud-masked and combined, so one bad day cannot create a false result.
- Sentinel-1 radar as an independent check. Radar is unaffected by cloud, so a change confirmed by both sensors is far more trustworthy than one seen in a single optical image.
- The same season in earlier years. Before anything is called unusual, SCOPE checks what that place normally does at that time of year.
- A confidence and a date bracket per area, plus a PDF, GeoJSON and CSV you can take to a surveyor, an insurer or a court.
What it will not do
SCOPE measures change; it does not confirm who caused it. Areas under a hectare are below what 10 m pixels can resolve. Persistent cloud limits the optical view, and the report says when that happened rather than hiding it. On its own published benchmark it found the change at 39 of 41 recorded events, raised no false alarms across 27 desert and undisturbed-forest control sites, and did flag change at city-centre controls — because cities genuinely change.
Questions
How quickly can a burn scar be mapped?
As soon as a clear image is available after the fire — often within five days, sometimes the next day. Smoke and cloud delay the optical view; radar fills part of the gap.
Does it measure fire severity?
It measures the area and strength of the spectral change, which tracks severity, and reports a confidence per area. It does not assign an official severity class.
Can recovery be tracked afterwards?
Yes — re-scan the same boundary in later seasons and the vegetation return shows as change in the other direction.
Try it on a place you already know
If SCOPE is right about somewhere you know well, you can trust it somewhere you do not. 5 scans a day, free, no card.