Wildfire near São Francisco (Sep 2 · SE), Brazil (2026)

Wildfire near São Francisco (Sep 2 · SE) — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near São Francisco (Sep 2 · SE) — 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 40 km west of São Francisco.

Summary written on Sep 3, 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 São Francisco, Brazil, where 48 heat detections have flared over the past 48 hours. The blaze has scorched 550 hectares, or 1,359 acres, since it started on September 2, 2026.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from August to October. Despite active fires in the area, the broader national landscape shows a different trend, with 4,808,050 hectares burned across the country so far in 2026, marking an 84% decrease compared to the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Brazil for 2 days. In total it burned about 550 ha (1,359 acres) — around 5.5 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.