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Sabugal fire, August 2025 Pousafoles do Bispo, Pena Lobo e Lomba, Sortelha, Vila do Touro

Out · last detection 21 Aug 2025, 02:20 UTC

The fire started on 15 August 2025 in Quintas de São Bartolomeu, Portugal, and satellites saw it burning for 7 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 23,594 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 25 municipalities. According to ICNF, the largest of the 2 recorded fires was detected on 16 August 2025 at 14:53 and declared extinguished on 24 August 2025.

It is the largest fire in Sabugal since 2016 (of 11 with a page). Number 3 in Portugal in 2025, of 85.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Sabugal · 2016Sabugal · 2019Sabugal · 2017Sabugal · 2020

Burnt area
23,594ha
Copernicus perimeter
Duration
7days
15 Aug 2025 – 21 Aug 2025
Municipalities hit
25
freguesias
Started on
15 Aug
2025
Heat detections
579
in a single hotspot: 360 MW
Danger at start
57
Extreme · FWI index
Average daily power
1.8GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 15 Aug21 Aug
21 Aug 2025

How it evolved, day by day

15 Aug 2025 · 528 MW · 4 16 Aug 2025 · 841 MW · 59 17 Aug 2025 · 5,417 MW · 257 18 Aug 2025 · 350 MW · 104 19 Aug 2025 · 5,177 MW · 137 20 Aug 2025 · 35 MW · 17 21 Aug 2025 · 1 MW · 1
15 Aug 16 Aug 17 Aug 18 Aug 19 Aug 20 Aug 21 Aug

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

The weather it burned in

36°high
47km/h · peak gust
15%lowest humidity

It had gone 51 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

18% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,305 ha in 2016, 835 ha in 2017, 922 ha in 2019, 509 ha in 2020, 470 ha in 2021, 516 ha in 2022, 67 ha in 2023, 15 ha in 2024. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 4,155 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 15% of the area of London (236 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each town

  1. Pousafoles do Bispo, Pena Lobo e Lomba 390 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    3,451 ha reached on 17 Aug
    90 %
  2. Sortelha 320 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    2,884 ha reached on 17 Aug
    73 %
  3. Vila do Touro 177 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    2,241 ha reached on 16 Aug
    95 %
  4. Seixo do Côa e Vale Longo 182 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    1,984 ha reached on 17 Aug
    79 %
  5. Águas Belas fire reached the centre
    1,881 ha reached on 17 Aug
    92 %
  6. Bendada 473 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    1,779 ha reached on 17 Aug
    51 %
  7. Baraçal fire reached the centre
    1,050 ha reached on 16 Aug
    66 %
  8. Casteleiro 311 inhabitants · 0.6 km from the centre
    963 ha reached on 17 Aug
    22 %
  9. Santo Estêvão e Moita 327 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    961 ha reached on 19 Aug
    33 %
  10. Ruvina, Ruivós e Vale das Éguas 195 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    843 ha
    46 %
  11. Cerdeira 188 inhabitants · 1.3 km from the centre
    820 ha reached on 17 Aug
    35 %
  12. Marmeleiro 297 inhabitants · 2.0 km from the centre
    762 ha reached on 17 Aug
    26 %
  13. Rapoula do Côa 268 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    693 ha reached on 17 Aug
    87 %
  14. Quintas de São Bartolomeu 171 inhabitants · fire reached the centre where it started
    605 ha reached on 16 Aug
    57 %
  15. Pega 121 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    567 ha reached on 17 Aug
    53 %
  16. Miuzela e Porto de Ovelha 280 inhabitants · 2.6 km from the centre
    461 ha reached on 17 Aug
    16 %
  17. Sabugal e Aldeia de Santo António 2,604 inhabitants · 2.5 km from the centre
    451 ha reached on 15 Aug
    8.0 %
  18. Adão 258 inhabitants · 2.2 km from the centre
    423 ha reached on 17 Aug
    15 %
  19. Vale da Senhora da Póvoa 222 inhabitants · 0.5 km from the centre
    307 ha reached on 19 Aug
    16 %
  20. Bismula 190 inhabitants · 1.7 km from the centre
    194 ha reached on 18 Aug
    10 %
  21. Aldeia da Ribeira, Vilar Maior e Badamalos 266 inhabitants · 6.0 km from the centre
    166 ha
    2.4 %
  22. Benespera 281 inhabitants · 4.0 km from the centre
    95 ha reached on 18 Aug
    5.2 %
  23. Benquerença 463 inhabitants · 2.2 km from the centre
    41 ha reached on 19 Aug
    1.4 %
  24. Rendo 212 inhabitants · 2.2 km from the centre
    0 ha reached on 17 Aug
    0.0 %
  25. Rochoso e Monte Margarida 214 inhabitants · 7.4 km from the centre
    0 ha
    0.0 %

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

  • Other natural land41 %
  • Scrub and transitional woodland35 %
  • Agricultural areas22 %
  • Mixed forest1.8 %

Natura 2000 protected area affected: 13 %

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 area29 ha
Residents≈ 400

Inside the perimeter there were about 29 hectares of built-up land and about 400 residents (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

Official record

Complex of 2 fires according to ICNF

According to ICNF, 2 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 22,434 ha (the satellite measured 23,594 ha).

ICNF records each fire that started at a different time or place separately; the satellite sees a single burned area, so this page groups them together. The numbers on the map show where each one started.

When each one burned

1 10,619 ha 2 11,815 ha
15 Aug24 Aug
arson negligence
  1. 1 Sabugal Aldeia de Santo António 15 August 2025 · 14:41 10,619 ha · extinguished on 24 August 2025 · cause: arson
  2. 2 Sabugal Sortelha 16 August 2025 · 14:53 11,815 ha · extinguished on 24 August 2025 · cause: negligence

Total according to ICNF: 22,434 ha, 95 % of the 23,594 ha in the satellite perimeter.

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 de Sortelha · Fogo do Sabugal · Incêndio Sabugal-Penamacor
Declared under control (not yet extinguished): 24 August 2025

Sources

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)
15 Aug 34.9 °C 16 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
16 Aug 35.1 °C 15 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
17 Aug 35.6 °C 16 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
18 Aug 28.8 °C 21 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
19 Aug 25.9 °C 30 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
20 Aug 25.7 °C 27 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
21 Aug 27.4 °C 26 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
22 Aug after 29.1 °C 24 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
23 Aug after 30.9 °C 19 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
24 Aug after 29.4 °C 25 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
25 Aug after 30.6 °C 23 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
26 Aug after 31.0 °C 23 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
27 Aug after 25.0 °C 24 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
28 Aug after 22.5 °C 29 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
29 Aug after 24.6 °C 42 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
30 Aug after 25.9 °C 32 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
31 Aug after 21.0 °C 38 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm High 38

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 8 Aug 2025
After · 28 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 152 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 70: 4.7 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak152 µg/m³
Days over the guideline6 days
PM10197 µg/m³
Optical depth1.00
131415161718192021222324
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 · 579Every 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 Sabugal fire last?
Copernicus dates it between 15 August 2025 and 21 August 2025: 7 days between the first and last image with fire. According to ICNF, the largest of the 2 recorded fires was detected on 16 August 2025 at 14:53 and declared extinguished on 24 August 2025.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 23,594 hectares (235.9 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 25 municipalities: Pousafoles do Bispo, Pena Lobo e Lomba (3,451 ha, 90 %); Sortelha (2,884 ha, 73 %); Vila do Touro (2,241 ha, 95 %); Seixo do Côa e Vale Longo (1,984 ha, 79 %); Águas Belas (1,881 ha, 92 %); Bendada (1,779 ha, 51 %); Baraçal (1,050 ha, 66 %); Casteleiro (963 ha, 22 %); Santo Estêvão e Moita (961 ha, 33 %); Ruvina, Ruivós e Vale das Éguas (843 ha, 46 %); Cerdeira (820 ha, 35 %); Marmeleiro (762 ha, 26 %).
Did the fire reach a town?
The fire started in Quintas de São Bartolomeu and reached its centre: the point marking it was inside the burnt area or less than 500 metres from it. That does not mean houses burned.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 35.6 °C, humidity dropped to 15 % and gusts hit 47 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 57, class Extreme.
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 · 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.

No changes since 24 October 2026.

RSS Changes to this page

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.
  • Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 579 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • Compared with ICNF: 22,434 official ha against 23,594 ha of perimeter; they agree within 25%.
  • Checked against news and agencies: 4 confirmed sources.
  • 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 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.