Wildfire near Chaves, Portugal (2026)

Wildfire near Chaves — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Chaves — 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

About 5 km west of Chaves.

Summary written on Aug 1, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Satellites are picking up an intense heat signature from the active wildfire burning near Chaves, Portugal, which has grown to cover 450 hectares (1,112 acres) since it started on July 31, 2026. Across the immediate area, 18 heat detections have been registered over the past 48 hours.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to October. On a national scale, however, the broader context shows that 51,813 hectares have burned so far in 2026, marking a figure 51% below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Portugal for 2 days. In total it burned about 450 ha (1,112 acres) — around 4.5 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.