Wildfire near Lagoa da Confusão (Jul 31), Brazil (2026)

Wildfire near Lagoa da Confusão (Jul 31) — NASA satellite

Yesterday's image: fire shows in orange and red. NASA MODIS

The story so far

Summary written on Aug 2, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Burning near Lagoa da Confusão in Brazil, an active wildfire has expanded to 480 hectares (1,186 acres) since starting on July 31, 2026. Over its two days burning, the fire has maintained an average daily growth of approximately 240 hectares per day. Satellites are picking up an intense heat signature from the peak fire radiative power, while three NASA FIRMS heat detections over the past 48 hours cluster nearby to show how far the blaze has spread.

This incident occurs during the region's typical fire season, which runs from August to October. Despite this active fire, the broader national context shows that 2,067,735 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a significant 93 percent decrease below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Brazil 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.