# Wildfires in Bulgaria in 2020

15 fires larger than 100 hectares in Bulgaria in 2020, with 7,667 hectares burned according to their perimeters. Here is the whole year: what the official record says, when and where it burned and what the weather was like.

## The year in a few sentences

- According to Copernicus EFFIS, 9,179 hectares burned in Bulgaria in 2020: 61% of the average of the other years from 2006 to 2025 (15,146 ha). (Copernicus EFFIS)
- The worst week was 5 August to 11 August: 4,032 hectares burned in seven days, 44% of the year according to Copernicus EFFIS. (Copernicus EFFIS)
- The largest fire was the Topolovgrad fire, which started on 8 August 2020 and burned 2,202 hectares: 29% of the area of the year's 15 fires with a page. (WorldFires)
- The day of highest danger at a fire this year was 8 August 2020: a Fire Weather Index of 67 (extreme on the EFFIS scale) at the Svilengrad fire, calculated by WorldFires from ERA5. (WorldFires · ERA5)

## Month by month

Hectares within the perimeters by the month the fire started. Tap a month to see it on the map.

| Month | Fires | Hectares |
|---|---:|---:|
| January | 1 | 138 |
| February | 0 | 0 |
| March | 1 | 103 |
| April | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| June | 0 | 0 |
| July | 4 | 1,065 |
| August | 5 | 4,285 |
| September | 4 | 2,076 |
| October | 0 | 0 |
| November | 0 | 0 |
| December | 0 | 0 |

## Week by week, against other years (Copernicus EFFIS)

The average and the band are the Copernicus EFFIS climatology for 2006–2025, which includes 2020 itself.

| Week | 2020 | That week | average | lowest and highest |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 1 (1 Jan–7 Jan) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0–46 |
| 2 (8 Jan–14 Jan) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0–46 |
| 3 (15 Jan–21 Jan) | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0–46 |
| 4 (22 Jan–28 Jan) | 318 | 318 | 24 | 0–318 |
| 5 (29 Jan–4 Feb) | 514 | 196 | 49 | 0–514 |
| 6 (5 Feb–11 Feb) | 514 | 0 | 93 | 0–1,026 |
| 7 (12 Feb–18 Feb) | 613 | 99 | 139 | 0–1,107 |
| 8 (19 Feb–25 Feb) | 654 | 41 | 241 | 0–1,200 |
| 9 (26 Feb–3 Mar) | 654 | 0 | 290 | 0–1,313 |
| 10 (4 Mar–10 Mar) | 654 | 0 | 449 | 0–2,318 |
| 11 (11 Mar–17 Mar) | 654 | 0 | 496 | 0–2,577 |
| 12 (18 Mar–24 Mar) | 654 | 0 | 778 | 0–3,328 |
| 13 (25 Mar–31 Mar) | 757 | 103 | 1,131 | 0–7,177 |
| 14 (1 Apr–7 Apr) | 757 | 0 | 1,189 | 0–7,283 |
| 15 (8 Apr–14 Apr) | 928 | 171 | 1,220 | 0–7,379 |
| 16 (15 Apr–21 Apr) | 1,263 | 335 | 1,242 | 0–7,379 |
| 17 (22 Apr–28 Apr) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,247 | 0–7,379 |
| 18 (29 Apr–5 May) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,247 | 0–7,379 |
| 19 (6 May–12 May) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,255 | 0–7,535 |
| 20 (13 May–19 May) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,255 | 0–7,535 |
| 21 (20 May–26 May) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,257 | 0–7,569 |
| 22 (27 May–2 Jun) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,257 | 0–7,569 |
| 23 (3 Jun–9 Jun) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,270 | 0–7,640 |
| 24 (10 Jun–16 Jun) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,270 | 0–7,640 |
| 25 (17 Jun–23 Jun) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,396 | 0–7,640 |
| 26 (24 Jun–30 Jun) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,474 | 0–7,640 |
| 27 (1 Jul–7 Jul) | 1,263 | 0 | 1,549 | 0–7,688 |
| 28 (8 Jul–14 Jul) | 1,263 | 0 | 2,450 | 0–19,265 |
| 29 (15 Jul–21 Jul) | 1,263 | 0 | 4,315 | 0–35,802 |
| 30 (22 Jul–28 Jul) | 1,742 | 479 | 6,922 | 0–48,670 |
| 31 (29 Jul–4 Aug) | 2,328 | 586 | 7,658 | 0–49,819 |
| 32 (5 Aug–11 Aug) | 6,360 | 4,032 | 8,352 | 0–49,819 |
| 33 (12 Aug–18 Aug) | 6,360 | 0 | 8,962 | 0–49,868 |
| 34 (19 Aug–25 Aug) | 6,360 | 0 | 10,451 | 0–67,598 |
| 35 (26 Aug–1 Sept) | 7,151 | 791 | 11,378 | 0–67,598 |
| 36 (2 Sept–8 Sept) | 7,436 | 285 | 11,773 | 0–67,598 |
| 37 (9 Sept–15 Sept) | 9,141 | 1,705 | 12,268 | 0–67,598 |
| 38 (16 Sept–22 Sept) | 9,179 | 38 | 12,566 | 0–67,598 |
| 39 (23 Sept–29 Sept) | 9,179 | 0 | 12,621 | 0–67,598 |
| 40 (30 Sept–6 Oct) | 9,179 | 0 | 12,641 | 0–67,598 |
| 41 (7 Oct–13 Oct) | 9,179 | 0 | 12,706 | 0–67,598 |
| 42 (14 Oct–20 Oct) | 9,179 | 0 | 12,891 | 0–67,598 |
| 43 (21 Oct–27 Oct) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,139 | 0–67,598 |
| 44 (28 Oct–3 Nov) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,223 | 0–67,598 |
| 45 (4 Nov–10 Nov) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,257 | 0–67,598 |
| 46 (11 Nov–17 Nov) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,258 | 0–67,598 |
| 47 (18 Nov–24 Nov) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,304 | 0–67,598 |
| 48 (25 Nov–1 Dec) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,304 | 0–67,598 |
| 49 (2 Dec–8 Dec) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,304 | 0–67,598 |
| 50 (9 Dec–15 Dec) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,307 | 0–67,598 |
| 51 (16 Dec–22 Dec) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,315 | 0–67,598 |
| 52 (23 Dec–29 Dec) | 9,179 | 0 | 13,333 | 0–67,598 |

## Largest recorded fires

- [Topolovgrad fire, August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/topolovgrad-2020-08.md) · 2,202 ha
- [Topolovgrad fire, September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/topolovgrad-2020-09.md) · 1,531 ha
- [Elhovo fire, August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/elhovo-2020-08.md) · 1,167 ha
- [Elhovo fire, July 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/elhovo-2020-07.md) · 479 ha
- [Harmanli fire, August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/harmanli-2020-08.md) · 428 ha
- [Parvomay fire, August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/parvomay-2020-08.md) · 345 ha
- [Karnobat fire, 31 July 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/karnobat-2020-07-2.md) · 252 ha
- [Karnobat fire, 31 July 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/karnobat-2020-07.md) · 228 ha
- [Svilengrad fire, September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/svilengrad-2020-09.md) · 214 ha
- [Stara Zagora fire, September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/stara-zagora-2020-09.md) · 209 ha
- [Svilengrad fire, August 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/svilengrad-2020-08.md) · 143 ha
- [Karnobat fire, January 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/karnobat-2020-01.md) · 138 ha
- [Vetrino fire, September 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/vetrino-2020-09.md) · 122 ha
- [Simeonovgrad fire, July 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/simeonovgrad-2020-07.md) · 106 ha
- [Mezdra fire, March 2020](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/mezdra-2020-03.md) · 103 ha

## Sources and limits

Fire-page areas are satellite-measured perimeters and may differ from official statistics. The yearly and weekly record is the Copernicus EFFIS estimate. The FWI is our own calculation from ERA5 at each fire's location: it is not an official danger warning.
Official information for Bulgaria is published by: [ГДПБЗН · Пожарна безопасност и защита на населението](https://www.mvr.bg/gdpbzn)

## How to cite

WorldFires, “Wildfires in Bulgaria in 2020”, https://worldfires.org/en/country/bulgaria/2020 (accessed 15 November 2026). Sources: Copernicus EFFIS, WorldFires, WorldFires · ERA5, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS).

> Experimental site with automatically processed open data: it may contain errors and is not an official emergency service. If there is a fire, call your local emergency number.

Full version with maps: https://worldfires.org/en/country/bulgaria/2020