Katingan fire, 17 August 2026 Katingan, Kota Palangka Raya
The fire started on 17 August 2026 in Katingan, Indonesia, and satellites saw it burning for 68 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 13,512 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.
This page is probably a fire complex, not a single fire. GWIS merges into one perimeter the fires that touch over weeks, which in large burning seasons can join dozens of separate fires. The total area is reliable; the origin and dates refer to the whole complex.
It is the 32th largest in Central Kalimantan since 2016 (of 318 with a page). Number 81 in Indonesia in 2026, of 1010.
Is it still active?
No detections since 23 Oct 2026, 17:52 UTC. That usually means no flame is visible from space any more, although hotspots may remain. Satellites pass a few times a day and cloud or smoke can hide the fire: a lack of detections is not an official extinction. Each country’s emergency service declares a fire contained or out.
- Burnt area
- 13,512ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 68days
- 17 Aug 2026 – 23 Oct 2026
- Municipalities hit
- 2
- regencies
- Started on
- 17 Aug
- 2026
- Heat detections
- 1,292
- in a single hotspot: 43 MW
- Danger at start
- 21
- Moderate · FWI index
- Average daily power
- 90MW
- detected power per day, on average
Where it burned
How it evolved, day by day
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
It had gone 17 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.
This area had burned before
9% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,210 ha in 2019, 406 ha in 2023. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 1,226 ha that had burned before.
What happened to each town
-
Katingan where it started12,863 ha0.7 %
-
741 ha0.3 %
Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS 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.
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug | 35.2 °C | 40 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 18 Aug | 35.8 °C | 33 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 19 Aug | 35.5 °C | 40 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 20 Aug | 34.8 °C | 42 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 21 Aug | 34.9 °C | 40 % | 21 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 22 Aug | 34.0 °C | 48 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 23 Aug | 33.5 °C | 51 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 24 Aug | 33.3 °C | 52 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 25 Aug | 34.5 °C | 41 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 26 Aug | 35.1 °C | 39 % | 19 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 27 Aug | 34.8 °C | 39 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 28 Aug | 35.2 °C | 33 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 29 Aug | 35.6 °C | 31 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 30 Aug | 35.5 °C | 38 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 31 Aug | 35.2 °C | 41 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 31 |
| 1 Sept | 34.7 °C | 39 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 2 Sept | 34.7 °C | 38 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 3 Sept | 33.8 °C | 43 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 4 Sept | 33.7 °C | 50 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 5 Sept | 34.2 °C | 42 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 6 Sept | 33.9 °C | 47 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 7 Sept | 32.7 °C | 56 % | 27 km/h | 0.1 mm | High 23 |
| 8 Sept | 34.0 °C | 47 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 9 Sept | 34.0 °C | 45 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 10 Sept | 35.0 °C | 44 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 11 Sept | 35.2 °C | 39 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 12 Sept | 34.3 °C | 45 % | 16 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 13 Sept | 33.7 °C | 53 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 14 Sept | 34.6 °C | 39 % | 21 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 15 Sept | 32.8 °C | 51 % | 17 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 16 Sept | 30.2 °C | 65 % | 15 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 17 Sept | 28.9 °C | 71 % | 13 km/h | 0.2 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 18 Sept | 34.8 °C | 43 % | 18 km/h | 0.1 mm | High 22 |
| 19 Sept | 35.0 °C | 42 % | 21 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 20 Sept | 34.8 °C | 45 % | 17 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 21 Sept | 32.7 °C | 62 % | 18 km/h | 6.2 mm | Very low 3 |
| 22 Sept | 34.6 °C | 46 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 23 Sept | 35.0 °C | 43 % | 21 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 24 Sept | 36.0 °C | 44 % | 27 km/h | 2.2 mm | Moderate 11 |
| 25 Sept | 32.0 °C | 65 % | 17 km/h | 18.8 mm | Very low 0 |
| 26 Sept | 34.5 °C | 53 % | 26 km/h | 11.0 mm | Very low 1 |
| 27 Sept | 31.4 °C | 70 % | 20 km/h | 19.3 mm | Very low 0 |
| 28 Sept | 34.0 °C | 48 % | 19 km/h | 0.8 mm | Very low 1 |
| 29 Sept | 34.3 °C | 51 % | 17 km/h | 0.3 mm | Low 6 |
| 30 Sept | 33.2 °C | 60 % | 24 km/h | 0.7 mm | Low 6 |
| 1 Oct | 32.8 °C | 55 % | 26 km/h | 6.2 mm | Very low 1 |
| 2 Oct | 35.0 °C | 45 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 6 |
| 3 Oct | 34.5 °C | 46 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 4 Oct | 34.6 °C | 44 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 5 Oct | 35.5 °C | 40 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
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 · CopernicusOn 21 September 2026 the air beside the fire reached 3,271 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 1,198: 80 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
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 · 1,292Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Katingan fire last?
- GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 17 August 2026 and 23 October 2026: 68 days between the first and last heat detection of the perimeter.
- How much area did it burn?
- The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 13,512 hectares (135.1 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 2 municipalities: Katingan (12,863 ha, 0.7 %); Kota Palangka Raya (741 ha, 0.3 %).
- Is the Katingan fire still active?
- No fire detections since 23 Oct 2026, 17:52 UTC. A lack of detections is not an official extinction.
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 36.0 °C, humidity dropped to 31 % and gusts hit 33 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 31, class High.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Indonesia (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
Where this data comes from
The perimeter comes from the Copernicus Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), which rebuilds it from MODIS and VIIRS heat detections and publishes it under CC BY 4.0. It is not measured on imagery as in Europe, so it is an estimate. 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 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ from each country’s official figure.