Wildfire near Nova Santa Helena, Brazil (2026)

Wildfire near Nova Santa Helena — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Nova Santa Helena — 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

About 55 km southeast of Nova Santa Helena.

Summary written on Aug 18, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

Satellites are picking up an intense heat signature from an active wildfire burning near Nova Santa Helena, Brazil, where 16 thermal detections have been recorded over the past 48 hours. The blaze, which started on August 17, 2026, has grown to encompass 300 hectares, equivalent to 741 acres. The fire is unfolding within the region's typical fire season, which traditionally spans from August to October.

This incident occurs within a broader national context where 3,040,278 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, a figure that remains 90 percent below the two-decade average for the same period.

In context

This wildfire burned in Brazil for 2 days. In total it burned about 400 ha (988 acres) — around 4.0 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.