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Arganil fire, August 2025 Casegas, São Vicente da Beira, Erada

Out · last detection 24 Aug 2025, 03:04 UTC

The fire started on 10 August 2025 in Silvares, Portugal, and satellites saw it burning for 14 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 68,190 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 52 municipalities. According to ICNF, the largest of the 2 recorded fires was detected on 13 August 2025 at 05:08 and declared extinguished on 25 August 2025.

Number 2 in Portugal in 2025, of 85.

Burnt area
68,190ha
Copernicus perimeter
Duration
14days
10 Aug 2025 – 23 Aug 2025
Municipalities hit
52
freguesias
Started on
10 Aug
2025
Heat detections
4,323
in a single hotspot: 482 MW
Danger at start
43
Very high · FWI index
Energy released
116.6GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

24 Aug 2025
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 10 Aug23 Aug

How it evolved, day by day

1112131415161718192021222324

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

38°high
55km/h · peak gust
16%lowest humidity

It had gone 46 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

38% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 306 ha in 2016, 23,896 ha in 2017, 238 ha in 2018, 117 ha in 2019, 1,331 ha in 2020, 38 ha in 2021, 109 ha in 2022, 97 ha in 2023, 237 ha in 2024.

What happened to each town

  1. Casegas 425 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    4,633 ha reached on 18 Aug
    96 %
  2. São Vicente da Beira 961 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the town
    4,479 ha reached on 19 Aug
    45 %
  3. Erada 575 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    4,260 ha reached on 18 Aug
    98 %
  4. Piódão 120 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    3,635 ha reached on 11 Aug
    99 %
  5. União das Freguesias de Vide e Cabeça 570 inhabitants · 0.2 km from the town
    3,489 ha reached on 13 Aug
    62 %
  6. Alvoco da Serra 331 inhabitants · 0.2 km from the town
    3,291 ha reached on 18 Aug
    87 %
  7. Pomares 431 inhabitants · 0.1 km from the town
    3,114 ha reached on 13 Aug
    98 %
  8. Unhais-o-Velho 421 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    2,554 ha reached on 15 Aug
    65 %
  9. Castelejo 562 inhabitants · 0.3 km from the town
    2,350 ha reached on 18 Aug
    79 %
  10. São Jorge da Beira 504 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    2,285 ha reached on 11 Aug
    98 %
  11. Sobral de São Miguel 294 inhabitants · 0.1 km from the town where it started
    2,278 ha reached on 11 Aug
    95 %
  12. Paul 1,363 inhabitants · 0.3 km from the town
    1,981 ha reached on 18 Aug
    83 %
  13. União das Freguesias de Barco e Coutada 406 inhabitants · 0.3 km from the town
    1,978 ha reached on 18 Aug
    82 %
  14. Souto da Casa 746 inhabitants · 1.3 km from the town
    1,883 ha reached on 19 Aug
    64 %
  15. Aldeia das Dez 474 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    1,820 ha reached on 13 Aug
    98 %
  16. União das freguesias de Cerdeira e Moura da Serra
    1,678 ha reached on 14 Aug
    91 %
  17. Unhais da Serra 1,049 inhabitants · 0.3 km from the town
    1,662 ha reached on 18 Aug
    55 %
  18. Lavacolhos 180 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    1,482 ha reached on 18 Aug
    75 %
  19. Teixeira 144 inhabitants · 0.1 km from the town
    1,461 ha reached on 15 Aug
    92 %
  20. Castelo Novo 353 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the town
    1,431 ha reached on 20 Aug
    35 %
  21. Benfeita 372 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    1,406 ha reached on 15 Aug
    65 %
  22. Dornelas do Zêzere 667 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    1,405 ha reached on 18 Aug
    85 %
  23. Janeiro de Baixo 533 inhabitants · 2.9 km from the town
    1,283 ha reached on 18 Aug
    31 %
  24. Aldeia de São Francisco de Assis 489 inhabitants · 0.1 km from the town
    1,223 ha reached on 18 Aug
    77 %
  25. Vila Cova de Alva e Anseriz 535 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    1,121 ha reached on 15 Aug
    66 %
  26. União das Freguesias de Peso e Vales do Rio 674 inhabitants · 0.2 km from the town
    1,101 ha reached on 19 Aug
    69 %
  27. Silvares 372 inhabitants · 0.2 km from the town
    1,066 ha reached on 18 Aug
    52 %
  28. Fajão-Vidual 275 inhabitants · 2.8 km from the town
    977 ha reached on 14 Aug
    12 %
  29. União das Freguesias de Cepos e Teixeira 198 inhabitants · 0.9 km from the town
    736 ha reached on 15 Aug
    22 %
  30. Alvoco das Várzeas 314 inhabitants · 0.2 km from the town
    702 ha reached on 14 Aug
    60 %
  31. Avô 847 inhabitants · 0.1 km from the town
    626 ha reached on 15 Aug
    89 %
  32. Louriçal do Campo 557 inhabitants · 1.5 km from the town
    592 ha reached on 20 Aug
    26 %
  33. Penalva de Alva e São Sebastião da Feira 928 inhabitants · 0.6 km from the town
    551 ha reached on 15 Aug
    38 %
  34. União das freguesias de Santa Ovaia e Vila Pouca da Beira
    551 ha reached on 15 Aug
    73 %
  35. Loriga 848 inhabitants · 0.5 km from the town
    508 ha reached on 19 Aug
    14 %
  36. Barroca 378 inhabitants · 0.6 km from the town
    469 ha reached on 18 Aug
    20 %
  37. Telhado 579 inhabitants · 1.2 km from the town
    469 ha reached on 19 Aug
    27 %
  38. Lourosa 559 inhabitants · 0.0 km from the town
    397 ha reached on 15 Aug
    28 %
  39. Almaceda 511 inhabitants · 3.4 km from the town
    292 ha reached on 19 Aug
    4.0 %
  40. Cortes do Meio 746 inhabitants · 2.0 km from the town
    252 ha reached on 20 Aug
    5.3 %
  41. Alcaria 1,101 inhabitants · 1.8 km from the town
    225 ha
    10 %
  42. Soalheira 852 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the town
    205 ha
    17 %
  43. Janeiro de Cima e Bogas de Baixo 425 inhabitants · 3.6 km from the town
    115 ha reached on 19 Aug
    2.5 %
  44. Alpedrinha
    88 ha reached on 21 Aug
    5.5 %
  45. Nogueira do Cravo 2,168 inhabitants · 2.0 km from the town
    74 ha reached on 15 Aug
    4.9 %
  46. Dominguizo 1,018 inhabitants · 1.9 km from the town
    68 ha reached on 21 Aug
    14 %
  47. Bogas de Cima 328 inhabitants · 3.3 km from the town
    19 ha reached on 20 Aug
    0.6 %
  48. Covas e Vila Nova de Oliveirinha 1,232 inhabitants · 2.9 km from the town
    4 ha reached on 15 Aug
    0.2 %
  49. Alcongosta 416 inhabitants · 1.8 km from the town
    2 ha reached on 21 Aug
    0.3 %
  50. Folques 342 inhabitants · 5.0 km from the town
    2 ha
    0.1 %
  51. Tortosendo 5,217 inhabitants · 1.9 km from the town
    1 ha
    0.0 %
  52. Oliveira do Hospital e São Paio de Gramaços 5,835 inhabitants · 3.5 km from the town
    0 ha
    0.0 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the official perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance is from the town centre to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

What burned

  • Scrub and transitional woodland46 %
  • Other natural land28 %
  • Coniferous forest14 %
  • Agricultural areas6.9 %
  • Mixed forest3.9 %
  • Broadleaved forest1.6 %

Natura 2000 protected area affected: 29 %

Natura 2000 sites (European Environment Agency, 2024 release) crossed by the perimeter.

Land cover inside the perimeter according to Corine Land Cover, as reported by Copernicus.

Official record

According to ICNF, 2 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 66,200 ha (the satellite measured 68,190 ha).

ICNF (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas). This is the agency’s operational record: its figures may be revised when the year’s statistics are closed.

Checked against the press

Checked on 29 September 2026

We checked this page against 4 sources published once the fire was out. This is what they add:

Also known as
Incêndio Arganil/Piódão · Incêndio da Covilhã · Incêndio de Sobral de São Miguel (foco separado, 10 ago)
Official area reported: 64,451 ha (the satellite measured 68,190 ha)
Declared under control (not yet extinguished): 24 August 2025

Sources

Official figures are measured differently from satellite ones and sometimes cover only part of the fire.

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
10 Aug 35.8 °C 21 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
11 Aug 37.8 °C 16 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
12 Aug 37.8 °C 17 % 40 km/h 2.2 mm High 36
13 Aug 35.5 °C 23 % 35 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 38
14 Aug 35.2 °C 20 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
15 Aug 34.1 °C 23 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
16 Aug 35.9 °C 20 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
17 Aug 35.4 °C 21 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
18 Aug 27.7 °C 29 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
19 Aug 25.4 °C 34 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
20 Aug 26.2 °C 36 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
21 Aug 28.6 °C 30 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
22 Aug 31.4 °C 25 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
23 Aug 32.0 °C 24 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
24 Aug after 30.7 °C 27 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
25 Aug after 31.9 °C 27 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
26 Aug after 30.8 °C 31 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
27 Aug after 23.3 °C 42 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
28 Aug after 22.3 °C 37 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
29 Aug after 23.6 °C 50 % 50 km/h 0.2 mm High 30
30 Aug after 24.2 °C 44 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
31 Aug after 21.4 °C 46 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
1 Sept after 20.4 °C 44 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
2 Sept after 22.9 °C 50 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 26

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 3 Aug 2025
After · 30 Aug 2025

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

The smoke

CAMS · Copernicus

On 17 August 2025 the air beside the fire reached 514 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 246: 16 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak514 µg/m³
Days over the guideline14 days
PM10653 µg/m³
Optical depth1.86
891011121314151617181920212223242526
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely poor

Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)

Detections table · 4,323Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Portugal ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Arganil fire last?
Copernicus dates it between 10 August 2025 and 23 August 2025: 14 days between the first and last image with fire. According to ICNF, the largest of the 2 recorded fires was detected on 13 August 2025 at 05:08 and declared extinguished on 25 August 2025.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 68,190 hectares (681.9 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 52 municipalities: Casegas (4,633 ha, 96 %); São Vicente da Beira (4,479 ha, 45 %); Erada (4,260 ha, 98 %); Piódão (3,635 ha, 99 %); União das Freguesias de Vide e Cabeça (3,489 ha, 62 %); Alvoco da Serra (3,291 ha, 87 %); Pomares (3,114 ha, 98 %); Unhais-o-Velho (2,554 ha, 65 %); Castelejo (2,350 ha, 79 %); São Jorge da Beira (2,285 ha, 98 %); Sobral de São Miguel (2,278 ha, 95 %); Paul (1,981 ha, 83 %).
Did the fire reach a town?
The closest fire to a town centre came within 0.0 km of Casegas. That is the distance to the perimeter or nearest hotspot; it does not mean it entered the houses.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 37.8 °C, humidity dropped to 16 % and gusts hit 55 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 45, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Portugal (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Emergency number: 112

Satellite cross-check

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

Report an error
What do you think is wrong?

We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 112.

Where this data comes from

The perimeter and land cover come from the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), measured on MODIS and Sentinel-2 imagery and published under CC BY 4.0. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Municipal boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from each country’s official figure.