Wildfire near Kutai Timur (Oct 4), Indonesia (2026)

Wildfire near Kutai Timur (Oct 4) — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Kutai Timur (Oct 4) — 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

Burning in the dry season, a wildfire near Kutai Timur, Indonesia, has ended after actively burning for 36 days since it started on October 4, 2026. Satellites monitored the incident during its run, picking up a moderate heat signature from the fire front across an estimated area of 480 hectares, or 1,186 acres.

This regional incident unfolded against a broader national landscape that has seen 8,803,354 hectares burned so far in 2026, a staggering 147% above the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Indonesia for 2 days. In total it burned about 480 ha (1,186 acres) — around 4.8 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.