Wildfire near Ketapang (Sep 23 · SE), Indonesia (2026)

Wildfire near Ketapang (Sep 23 · SE) — Sentinel-2 SWIR

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

The story so far

About 70 km southeast of Ketapang.

Summary written on Sep 22, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning near Ketapang, Indonesia, an active wildfire has expanded to cover 280 hectares, or approximately 692 acres, since it started on September 20, 2026. Over its two days of burning, the fire has maintained an average daily growth of roughly 140 hectares per day. Satellites have registered a moderate heat signature from the fire front, with 36 heat detections captured nearby over the last 48 hours.

This incident unfolds during the typical fire season, known locally as the dry season. The broader landscape is already under immense pressure, with a national total of 4,660,102 hectares burned so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 31 percent above the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Indonesia for 2 days. In total it burned about 150 ha (371 acres) — around 1.5 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.