Wildfire near Chunchintok
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).
Satellites are picking up an intense heat signature from an active wildfire burning near Chunchintok, Mexico, which has scorched 130 hectares or 321 acres since it started on September 5, 2026. Orbiting equipment has registered five distinct heat detections over the last 48 hours, highlighting the ongoing spread of the front in the area.
This incident occurs against a broader national backdrop where 1,312,340 hectares have burned so far in 2026, a figure that remains 70% below the two-decade average. While the broader region typically experiences its fire season from March to June, this active blaze demonstrates the ongoing localized risks outside of those peak months.
In context
This wildfire has been burning in Mexico for 1 day. So far it has affected roughly 130 ha (321 acres) — about 1.3 km².
Close to the tropics, fires tend to follow the dry season and are often linked to land-clearing rather than a single summer peak.
The bigger picture in Mexico
Across Mexico, roughly 1,312,340 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 70% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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