Wildfire near Ialibu, Papua New Guinea (2026)

Wildfire near Ialibu — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Ialibu — 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 Oct 25, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

A moderate heat signature is currently being picked up by satellites for an active wildfire burning near Ialibu, Papua New Guinea, which started on October 24, 2026. The fire is situated within the region's typical fire season, which is the dry season.

Satellite observations over the past 48 hours have detected 16 heat signatures clustering nearby, indicating the extent of the fire's recent spread. Based on the number of these satellite hotspots, the size of the fire is roughly estimated at 180 hectares, or 445 acres.

In context

This wildfire burned in Papua New Guinea for 2 days. In total it burned about 180 ha (445 acres) — around 1.8 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.