Wildfire near Morehead District (Oct 16 · S), Papua New Guinea (2026)

Part of a series of fires in the same area. The main one: Wildfire near Morehead District (Oct 16 · N)

Wildfire near Morehead District (Oct 16 · S) — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Morehead District (Oct 16 · S) — 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

Following a two-day span of activity in the dry season, the wildfire near Morehead District in Papua New Guinea has ended. Satellites tracked a moderate heat intensity during the burn, with thirteen heat detections recorded over the final 48 hours highlighting the extent of the activity in the area.

First detected on November 11, 2026, the fire burned across an estimated area of 300 hectares, equivalent to 741 acres, derived from satellite hotspot analysis.

In context

This wildfire burned in Papua New Guinea for 2 days. In total it burned about 300 ha (741 acres) — around 3.0 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.