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Wildfires in North Macedonia

347 fires over 100 hectares with an official perimeter since 2016, adding up to 236,438 hectares burned across 75 municipalities.

Only fires of 100 ha or more get an entry: smaller ones are not in the lists or the entry totals, but they are in the official yearly series.

These figures leave out 4 provisional pages, seen only as heat detections and still without a perimeter. They appear in the lists, marked.

What is burning in North Macedonia today › Emergency number and official warnings ›

Key facts

Figures computed on 4 November 2026 from the WorldFires database; each sentence names its source. Reusable under CC BY 4.0 with credit to WorldFires.

The official record

2006–2026
Yearly average 2016–202522,530 ha
Worst year2024 95,214 ha
With a page here347 since 2016
060708091011121314151617181920212223242526
›See the year-by-year table
Year Fires hectares Source
202669 25,323 EFFIS
202582 31,338 EFFIS
2024132 95,214 EFFIS
202349 12,894 EFFIS
202231 3,806 EFFIS
202168 20,377 EFFIS
202022 2,023 EFFIS
2019135 29,807 EFFIS
201818 2,391 EFFIS
201781 23,541 EFFIS
20167 3,908 EFFIS
20158 2,396 EFFIS
20140 — EFFIS
201317 7,813 EFFIS
201258 25,807 EFFIS
201150 21,044 EFFIS
20107 1,692 EFFIS
20092 901 EFFIS
200835 14,378 EFFIS
200759 40,108 EFFIS
20060 — EFFIS

National estimates from Copernicus EFFIS, which only counts fires larger than 30 hectares.

Fire calendar

The peak usually comes in week 33 (around 16 August): that is the median of the week with the most burned area in each year since 2016.

Each cell is one week; the colour shows the area of the fires on record that started that week, in quartiles for this country. Tap a cell for details.

Hectares per week: no fires < 242242–569569–1,259≥ 1,259

When it burned: year by year, month by month

Hectares with an official perimeter by the fire’s starting month, and the largest fire of each year.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecΣLargest of the year
2026
478
205
456
18k
4k
538
 24,551 Prilep 7,752 ha
2025
2k
418
21k
4k
501
167
 28,947 Vasilevo 5,227 ha
2024
418
613
1k
1k
50k
29k
10k
130
 93,052 Negotino 13,335 ha
2023
3k
5k
3k
266
 11,402 Prilep 1,259 ha
2022
118
110
129
765
623
897
 2,642 Negotino 587 ha
2021
155
944
120
233
2k
14k
1k
222
226
 18,875 Pehchevo 5,413 ha
2020
552
209
180
247
 1,188 Dolneni 247 ha
2019
374
8k
2k
3k
7k
8k
 27,849 Prilep 2,771 ha
2018
384
550
781
 1,715 Makedonski Brod 781 ha
2017
456
1k
238
8k
10k
1k
999
 22,430 Makedonski Brod 5,197 ha
2016
4k
111
 3,787 Cheshinovo - Obleshevo 1,789 ha

Hectares burned per year

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

What burns: vegetation burnt by year

Copernicus EFFIS · Corine Land Cover

Of the 236,438 ha that EFFIS mapped in North Macedonia since 2016 in fires of 30 ha or more, 17% was forest, 31% shrubland, 24% other natural land and 27% farmland. 2024 was the year with the most forest burnt: 13,487 ha, 14% of everything that burnt that year.

Breakdown by the Corine Land Cover classes that EFFIS computes inside each perimeter. Only perimeters of 30 ha or more linked to a fire page, so the sum does not match the country total. Forest: coniferous, broadleaved and mixed; shrubland: sclerophyllous and transitional; built-up and other: artificial surfaces and other land cover.

›See the year-by-year table
Year hectares ForestShrublandOther natural landAgricultural areasBuilt-up and other
202624,551 20 %31 %10 %38 %< 1 %
202528,947 25 %35 %18 %21 %1 %
202493,052 14 %35 %24 %27 %< 1 %
202311,402 4 %21 %14 %61 %0 %
20222,642 27 %26 %27 %20 %< 1 %
202118,875 23 %32 %13 %32 %0 %
20201,188 29 %14 %37 %20 %0 %
201927,849 20 %29 %32 %19 %< 1 %
20181,715 41 %20 %31 %8 %< 1 %
201722,430 10 %24 %57 %9 %0 %
20163,787 2 %26 %2 %69 %1 %

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Largest recorded fires

By region

  1. Pelagonia 68,486 ha · 89
  2. Vardar 52,288 ha · 56
  3. Southwest 32,406 ha · 68
  4. East 23,798 ha · 41
  5. Polog 18,875 ha · 57
  6. Southeast 15,207 ha · 25
  7. Skopje 14,007 ha · 45
  8. Northeast 11,350 ha · 25

Municipalities that have burned most often in North Macedonia

  1. 37×Prilep8 years · 32,050 ha
  2. 33×Makedonski Brod10 years · 19,154 ha
  3. 28×Gostivar8 years · 7,263 ha
  4. 22×Dolneni8 years · 7,464 ha
  5. 20×Chashka6 years · 9,010 ha

Full ranking: by number of fires, area and share of the municipality →

Fires in 2026 · 44

See all 44 fires of 2026 →

Fires in 2025 · 37

See all 37 fires of 2025 →

Fires in 2024 · 69

See all 69 fires of 2024 →

Fires in 2023 · 19

Fires in 2022 · 9

Fires in 2021 · 36

See all 36 fires of 2021 →

Fires in 2020 · 6

Fires in 2019 · 77

See all 77 fires of 2019 →

Fires in 2018 · 5

Fires in 2017 · 44

See all 44 fires of 2017 →

Fires in 2016 · 5

Frequently asked questions

How much land burns in North Macedonia in an average year?
According to Copernicus EFFIS estimates, an average of 22,530 hectares burn in North Macedonia each year (2016–2025 average).
What was the worst wildfire year in North Macedonia?
The worst year in North Macedonia since 2016 was 2024, with 95,214 hectares burned according to Copernicus EFFIS.
What is the largest wildfire recorded in North Macedonia?
Largest fire recorded by WorldFires in North Macedonia since 2016: Negotino fire, 14 July 2024, with 13,335 hectares burned — perimeter measured by satellite (Copernicus EFFIS).
When is wildfire season in North Macedonia?
In North Macedonia, 84% of the area burned in fires with a WorldFires page since 2016 burned in July–September; the month with the most burned area: August.
Which regions of North Macedonia burn the most?
Regions of North Macedonia with the most area burned in fires with a WorldFires page since 2016: Pelagonia (68,486 ha), Vardar (52,288 ha), Southwest (32,406 ha).