Wildfire near Băileşti, Romania (2026)

Wildfire near Băileşti — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Băileşti — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

True view Fire view

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True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

The story so far

Summary written on Sep 20, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

An active wildfire is currently burning across 180 hectares (445 acres) near the city of Băileşti, Romania, after igniting on September 19, 2026. Operating within the region's typical fire season, which spans the warm and dry months roughly from May to October, the incident is currently exhibiting a low heat intensity according to satellite observations.

Despite burning at a low thermal output, satellite tracking from NASA FIRMS indicates active thermal activity in the area, picking up 12 heat detections over the past 48 hours to map the unfolding trajectory near Băileşti.

In context

This wildfire burned in Romania for 2 days. In total it burned about 280 ha (692 acres) — around 2.8 km². That size is an estimate from satellite hotspots, not a measured area.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.