Biomass burning in North America (NA) occurs primarily over forested regions. The fires are usually so intense that they not only destroy vast tracts of forest, but also release large quantities of chemical species (CO, CO2, methane, etc.) and particles (aerosol) to the atmosphere. The emissions can affect weather, climate, and environment across NA and even around the globe. For example, large fires in western Canada were found to influence air quality in the eastern seaboard of US and their emissions have been detected in the stratosphere over Asia. Fire activity and climate may have a strong interaction that remains to be unraveled. Given the significant impacts of fire, a major project is underway to systematically and accurately document all historical fires occurred in NA from 1985 till present as a part of the NASA's LCLUC program. This presentation will provide an update on the development, validation, and analysis of the fire product. Pros and cons of algorithms for monitoring and mapping fires, and for tracing fire smoke plumes will be assessed. The remote sensing fire products are compared with ground-based/air-borne fire observations. Variations and trends in fire activity are analyzed using multiple years of fire data.