Wildfire near Centla (Aug 3), Mexico (2026)

Wildfire near Centla (Aug 3) — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Centla (Aug 3) — 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 Aug 4, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

An active wildfire spanning 100 hectares, or approximately 247 acres, is currently burning near the city of Centla in Mexico. Having started on August 3, 2026, the ongoing blaze is situated within a region where the typical fire season generally runs from March to June.

Satellites monitoring the incident have detected a moderate heat intensity emanating from the fire front, accompanied by five separate thermal signatures captured by NASA FIRMS over the past 48 hours, highlighting the current extent of the spread.

This incident unfolds against a broader national backdrop where 1,270,869 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 71 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Mexico for 2 days. In total it burned about 100 ha (247 acres) — around 1.0 km². That size is an estimate from satellite hotspots, not a measured area.

Close to the tropics, fires tend to follow the dry season and are often linked to land-clearing rather than a single summer peak.