Reporter leads unexplained so far
- RWI-SITREP-016-L1Djibouti: a spot just north of the US drone runway at Chabelley burns again and again
Where / when0.5–0.9 km north of the western end of the Chabelley Airfield runway; 4 May, 22 Jun, 6 Jul and 26 Oct 2026 (7 detections, 4–17 MW), always on daytime satellite passes, never at night
WhyNothing else burns in this stretch of desert in six months of data; the same few hundred metres light up on four separate days. Chabelley hosts US remotely piloted aircraft. Open burning of waste at US sites in Djibouti is a live issue: Djibouti is a covered location for toxic-exposure (burn pit) presumptions under the PACT Act. The data cannot say what burns or who burns it.
Would settle itCJTF-HOA / Camp Lemonnier public affairs: is there a waste-burning, disposal or training-fire site at or beside Chabelley, and who runs it? The next clear Sentinel-2 pass (28 Oct 07:46 UTC) should show whether 26 Oct left a scar.
Summary
No fire at the Chinese base in Djibouti: six months of satellite fire data show none at the PLA base or Doraleh port. The alerts were named after the whole Djibouti box; 150 of 172 detections are the Douda waste dump. One recurring spot beside the US drone runway at Chabelley is a lead. Otherwise a quiet evening: routine flares, first night of city MILAIR and the Southern California harbour watch.
Window 27 Oct 2026 17:00 MDT (23:00 UTC) → 28 Oct 2026 00:30 MDT (06:30 UTC)
