Wildfire near Argentière-la-Bessée
True color
Fire (SWIR)
Infrared / SWIR (right): sees through smoke.
🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 red/brown = burned
🟠 orange = active fire
Imagery: Sentinel-2 (Copernicus). Drag to compare smoke vs. infrared.
Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).
Burning across 552 hectares (1,364 acres) of coniferous forest and transitional woodland-shrub near Argentière-la-Bessée, France, a wildfire has finally come to an end after a prolonged 19-day campaign. Throughout its trajectory, the blaze expanded at an average daily growth of approximately 29 hectares per day following its ignition on July 20, 2026.
This prolonged incident unfolded during the region's typical fire season, which traditionally spans from June to September. The local event contributes to a broader national crisis in France, where 93,020 hectares have burned so far in 2026—an alarming figure that surges 530 percent above the country's two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in France for 45 days. In total it burned about 552 ha (1,364 acres) — around 5.5 km².
In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.
The bigger picture in France
Across France, roughly 96,595 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 555% above the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus EFFIS.
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