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Băile Herculane fire, 10 September 2026 Băile Herculane, Podeni

Out · last detection 20 Oct 2026, 00:41 UTC

The fire started on 10 September 2026 in Băile Herculane, Romania, and satellites saw it burning for 41 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 426 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 2 municipalities.

It is the 34th largest in Caraș-Severin since 2016 (of 194 with a page). Number 9 in Romania in 2026, of 59.

The power measured by the satellite is low (24.4 MW in the strongest hotspot), more typical of grass or stubble burning, or a slow surface fire, than of a large crown fire.

Burnt area
426ha
Copernicus perimeter
Duration
≈ 41days
10 Sept 2026 – 20 Oct 2026
Municipalities hit
2
municipalities
Started on
10 Sept
2026
Heat detections
59
in a single hotspot: 24 MW
Danger at start
21
High · FWI index
Average daily power
19MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 10 Sept20 Oct
20 Oct 2026

How it evolved, day by day

11 Sept 2026 · 2 MW · 1 18 Sept 2026 · 0 MW · 0 20 Sept 2026 · 1 MW · 1 21 Sept 2026 · 4 MW · 2 23 Sept 2026 · 9 MW · 2 24 Sept 2026 · 2 MW · 1 1 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 1 2 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 3 Oct 2026 · 7 MW · 3 4 Oct 2026 · 7 MW · 2 5 Oct 2026 · 25 MW · 11 6 Oct 2026 · 117 MW · 20 7 Oct 2026 · 38 MW · 12 8 Oct 2026 · 10 MW · 3 19 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 20 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0
11 Sept 23 Sept 3 Oct 6 Oct

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

The weather it burned in

24°high
59km/h · peak gust
22%lowest humidity

It had gone 10 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 9.9 mm on 22 Oct.

This area had burned before

No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.

What happened to each town

  1. Băile Herculane where it started
    421 ha reached on 11 Sept
    6.0 %
  2. 6 ha reached on 19 Oct
    0.1 %

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

What burned

  • Mixed forest53 %
  • Broadleaved forest44 %
  • Scrub and transitional woodland2.8 %

Natura 2000 protected area affected: 100 %

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.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2025
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2025, satellite-based estimate).

This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

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 Sept 24.5 °C 39 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 21
11 Sept 24.4 °C 44 % 42 km/h 0.2 mm High 26
12 Sept 17.2 °C 47 % 53 km/h 1.3 mm Low 10
13 Sept 17.9 °C 38 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
14 Sept 19.4 °C 37 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
15 Sept 19.4 °C 45 % 20 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 14
16 Sept 20.5 °C 41 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
17 Sept 21.7 °C 38 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
18 Sept 19.9 °C 44 % 18 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 18
19 Sept 23.6 °C 25 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
20 Sept 24.0 °C 31 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
21 Sept 17.1 °C 44 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
22 Sept 12.1 °C 48 % 40 km/h 3.7 mm High 22
23 Sept 10.8 °C 57 % 49 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 5
24 Sept 13.5 °C 43 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
25 Sept 11.4 °C 69 % 23 km/h 3.1 mm Very low 1
26 Sept 14.7 °C 53 % 20 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 1
27 Sept 17.2 °C 47 % 18 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 4
28 Sept 18.8 °C 37 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
29 Sept 17.3 °C 47 % 24 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 13
30 Sept 16.7 °C 45 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
1 Oct 16.2 °C 40 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
2 Oct 16.8 °C 38 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
3 Oct 16.7 °C 40 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
4 Oct 19.3 °C 24 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
5 Oct 20.2 °C 22 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
6 Oct 20.3 °C 27 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
7 Oct 18.8 °C 26 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
8 Oct 18.7 °C 33 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
9 Oct 18.4 °C 62 % 45 km/h 0.3 mm High 21
10 Oct 18.6 °C 58 % 34 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 17
11 Oct 14.4 °C 87 % 40 km/h 14.3 mm Very low 0
12 Oct 14.1 °C 53 % 44 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 0
13 Oct 10.9 °C 59 % 24 km/h 0.8 mm Very low 2
14 Oct 12.9 °C 39 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
15 Oct 10.0 °C 57 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
16 Oct 11.2 °C 49 % 32 km/h 0.4 mm Low 7
17 Oct 10.7 °C 55 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
18 Oct 14.2 °C 57 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
19 Oct 15.8 °C 54 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
20 Oct 15.3 °C 57 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
21 Oct after 14.8 °C 61 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
22 Oct after 9.5 °C 86 % 34 km/h 9.9 mm Very low 0

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 21.3, a minimum humidity of 39% and 10 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 20.

FWI at the start 21.3
Minimum humidity 39 %
Days without rain 10
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Bela Crkva Municipality fire, October 2019
179 ha 2 days FWI 20.4 Min. humidity 39 % 101 km away, in 2019

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 3.0 mm on 29 Oct.

What happened to them

2 days
median duration
174 ha
median area
5 %
went past 1,000 ha
3.0 mm
rain at the end (median; 20 of 20 had it)

It was 2.4 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 41 days, against 2 days.

Only 3 of its 20 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. All of them had rain in the ten days after the end: the first rainy day brought a median of 3.0 mm.

This is a bank of analogues: it shows what usually happens, not what will happen. With fewer than 15 twins we give no figures. How we calculate it

How it ended

9.9 mmfirst rain
22 Oct2 days after it ended
59km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 20 Oct, and on 22 Oct 9.9 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 20 of 20, with a median of 3.0 mm.

Weather on this page: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

How a twin is chosen

  • Same area: fires that have already ended, less than 250 km from this one, since 2016.
  • Same start: we compare the FWI on the first day, the minimum humidity that day and the run of days without rain before it. The slider sets how much they may differ.
  • Only pages with final weather data (ERA5 reanalysis) calculated in the same way as this fire’s; agricultural and grass burns and pages with data under review are left out.
  • Fires burning at the same time as this one (a week before or after) are left out: they share the same spell of weather and do not count as a precedent.
  • They are sorted by similarity, and the outlines of the first five are drawn.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 3 Sept 2026
After · 27 Oct 2026

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 7 October 2026 the air beside the fire reached 41 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 22: 1.5 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak41 µg/m³
Days over the guideline2 days
PM1048 µg/m³
Optical depth0.92
8 Sept15 Sept22 Sept29 Sept6 Oct
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 · 59Every 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 Romania

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Băile Herculane fire last?
The official perimeter only gives the start date (11 September 2026). The end comes from the heat detections inside the perimeter: it burned until 20 October 2026 (41 days from 10 September 2026), the last day with detections before more than 10 days in a row without any, so it is approximate.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 426 hectares (4.3 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Băile Herculane (421 ha, 6.0 %); Podeni (6 ha, 0.1 %).
Is the Băile Herculane fire still active?
No fire detections since 20 Oct 2026, 00:41 UTC. A lack of detections is not an official extinction.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 24.5 °C, humidity dropped to 22 % and gusts hit 59 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 29, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Romania (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
How did the fires that started in similar weather in this area end?
Fires less than 250 km away that started since 2016 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 20. Their median duration was 2 days and their median area 174 ha; 5 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 3 of its 20 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. All of them had rain in the ten days after the end: the first rainy day brought a median of 3.0 mm.

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 · Emergency number and official warnings

Satellite cross-check

History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

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.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: EFFIS (Copernicus), mapped on satellite imagery.
  • The official perimeter has no end date: the end is the last day with VIIRS detections inside the perimeter before a gap of more than 10 days (150 days at most), so it is approximate. 59 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology

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 ADM2 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)). 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.