A PC – based –NOAA satellite receiver, installed at the Ministerio del Ambiente y los Recursos Naturales (MARENA) headquarter in Managua, enable daily observations to be made on vegetation fires in Nicaragua and Central America. These observations are used particularly to assist and support operational forest management activities in Nicaragua. The technical approach and findings are presented with reference to forest fire in Nicaragua during the last five dry season (January-May 1999 to 2003). A Geographic Information System (GIS) is used in order to attempt to identify fire activity patterns. Spatial and time distributions of hot spot are assessed with regard to forest/land use type, coverage, population density, and rural poverty levels. Some features of fire activity in
Nicaragua are highlighted by considering some local cases in particular.