Wildfire near Paracatu (Aug 17)
Satellite image: NASA MODIS (infrared — active fire in orange/red, from yesterday).
Heat detections: NASA FIRMS (last 48h).
An active wildfire is currently burning near Paracatu, Brazil, having scorched 330 hectares, or approximately 815 acres, since it started on August 17, 2026. Satellites monitoring the incident are picking up a moderate heat signature from the active fire front.
Over the last 48 hours, instruments have detected 13 distinct heat signatures clustering nearby, indicating the current spread of the fire. This event takes place during the region's typical fire season, which runs from August to October.
Broader national figures show that 3,040,278 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 90% below the two-decade average.
In context
This wildfire burned in Brazil for 2 days. In total it burned about 330 ha (815 acres) — around 3.3 km².
Close to the tropics, fires tend to follow the dry season and are often linked to land-clearing rather than a single summer peak.
The bigger picture in Brazil
Across Brazil, roughly 4,909,573 hectares have burned so far in 2026 — 84% below the two-decade average. Data from Copernicus GWIS.
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