Sesan fire, December 2025 Sesan
The fire started on 30 December 2025 in Sesan, Cambodia, and satellites saw it burning for 58 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 30,976 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.
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.
Other fire pages in the same area and on the same dates:
- 22,903 haSiem Pang2 February 2026 · 47 days
- 7,243 haSiem Pang12 February 2026 · 13 days
- 7,184 haKoun MomFebruary 2026 · 10 days
- 6,526 haSiem Pang12 February 2026 · 14 days
- 4,741 haStueng TraengJanuary 2026 · 11 days
- 3,898 haThala Barivat10 February 2026 · 12 days
- 3,622 haStueng TraengFebruary 2026 · 9 days
- 3,151 haSesan7 January 2026 · 26 days
It is the largest fire in Stung Treng since 2016 (of 130 with a page). The largest in Cambodia in 2025, of 31.
Compare with…
Suggestions: Sesan · 2021Sesan · 2024Sesan · 2019Sesan · 2017
- Burnt area
- 30,976ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 58days
- 30 Dec 2025 – 25 Feb 2026
- Municipalities hit
- 1
- districts
- Started on
- 30 Dec
- 2025
- Heat detections
- 1,639
- in a single hotspot: 97 MW
- Danger at start
- 14
- Moderate · FWI index
- Average daily power
- 159MW
- 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 8 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 20.3 mm on 27 Feb.
This area had burned before
77% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 5,964 ha in 2016, 6,468 ha in 2017, 243 ha in 2018, 6,909 ha in 2019, 6,308 ha in 2020, 14,920 ha in 2021, 10,950 ha in 2022, 3,310 ha in 2023, 9,601 ha in 2024, 6,087 ha in 2025. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 23,869 ha that had burned before.
- 8,984 ha Sesan fire, January 2021 16,629 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 6,010 ha Sesan fire, January 2024 6,102 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 4,869 ha Sesan fire, December 2019 13,216 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 4,240 ha Sesan fire, February 2017 17,221 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 4,188 ha Sesan fire, January 2022 11,364 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 3,008 ha Sesan fire, January 2016 6,998 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 2,754 ha Sesan fire, January 2020 2,505 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,401 ha Sesan fire, January 2019 4,901 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
How big is it?
London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Paris boundary: geoBoundaries · Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN-F) (Etalab Open License 2.0).
Madrid boundary: geoBoundaries · Open Data ESRI, IGN Central Registry of Cartography Area (CC BY 4.0).
Berlin boundary: geoBoundaries · Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (dl-de/by-2-0).
This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.
What happened to each town
-
Sesan where it started31,174 ha11 %
Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS 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.
People and buildings inside the perimeter
GHSL 2025Inside the perimeter there were about 0.57 hectares of built-up land and about 200 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
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Dec | 30.6 °C | 46 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 31 Dec | 30.6 °C | 43 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 1 Jan | 30.7 °C | 46 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 2 Jan | 31.8 °C | 41 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 3 Jan | 30.2 °C | 42 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 4 Jan | 31.4 °C | 42 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 5 Jan | 30.8 °C | 46 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 6 Jan | 31.1 °C | 39 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 7 Jan | 29.8 °C | 46 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 8 Jan | 28.6 °C | 42 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 9 Jan | 28.0 °C | 38 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 10 Jan | 28.6 °C | 37 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 11 Jan | 29.9 °C | 39 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 12 Jan | 30.4 °C | 45 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 13 Jan | 31.0 °C | 48 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 14 Jan | 31.8 °C | 43 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 15 Jan | 32.5 °C | 45 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 16 Jan | 32.8 °C | 43 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 17 Jan | 32.8 °C | 41 % | 21 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 18 Jan | 31.6 °C | 47 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 19 Jan | 32.1 °C | 42 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 20 Jan | 31.7 °C | 41 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 21 Jan | 31.7 °C | 35 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 22 Jan | 31.8 °C | 32 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 23 Jan | 31.3 °C | 37 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 24 Jan | 31.8 °C | 38 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 25 Jan | 31.8 °C | 36 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 26 Jan | 31.5 °C | 41 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 27 Jan | 31.6 °C | 41 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 28 Jan | 32.4 °C | 38 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 29 Jan | 32.8 °C | 37 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 30 Jan | 32.5 °C | 38 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 31 Jan | 32.7 °C | 41 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 1 Feb | 32.7 °C | 34 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 2 Feb | 32.1 °C | 40 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 3 Feb | 32.1 °C | 44 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 4 Feb | 33.4 °C | 39 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 5 Feb | 34.2 °C | 41 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 6 Feb | 34.3 °C | 41 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 7 Feb | 32.3 °C | 53 % | 26 km/h | 0.5 mm | High 22 |
| 8 Feb | 32.1 °C | 43 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 9 Feb | 34.8 °C | 33 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 10 Feb | 35.0 °C | 35 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 31 |
| 11 Feb | 33.9 °C | 46 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 12 Feb | 35.5 °C | 36 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 13 Feb | 35.9 °C | 31 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 33 |
| 14 Feb | 36.4 °C | 30 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 34 |
| 15 Feb | 36.7 °C | 30 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 34 |
| 16 Feb | 36.9 °C | 31 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 36 |
| 17 Feb | 36.0 °C | 34 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 36 |
| 18 Feb | 36.9 °C | 32 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 38 |
| 19 Feb | 35.8 °C | 33 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 38 |
| 20 Feb | 35.7 °C | 31 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 37 |
| 21 Feb | 35.3 °C | 32 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 36 |
| 22 Feb | 35.6 °C | 40 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 31 |
| 23 Feb | 35.3 °C | 43 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 24 Feb | 35.8 °C | 40 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 25 Feb | 35.3 °C | 39 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 26 Feb after | 34.4 °C | 44 % | 28 km/h | 0.6 mm | High 26 |
| 27 Feb after | 27.4 °C | 76 % | 13 km/h | 20.3 mm | Very low 0 |
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 22 February 2026 the air beside the fire reached 60 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 36: 2.4 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 · 1,639Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
- 11,364 haSesan13 January 2022 · 31 days · 7 km away
- 10,697 haSesan8 January 2016 · 93 days · 10 km away
- 13,216 haSesanDecember 2019 · 37 days · 12 km away
- 17,221 haSesan5 February 2017 · 38 days · 13 km away
- 16,629 haSesan22 January 2021 · 17 days · 13 km away
- 22,903 haSiem Pang2 February 2026 · 47 days · 20 km away
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Sesan fire last?
- GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 30 December 2025 and 25 February 2026: 58 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 30,976 hectares (309.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire only entered Sesan (31,174 ha, 11 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 36.9 °C, humidity dropped to 30 % and gusts hit 41 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 38, class Very high.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Cambodia (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.
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.
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
How we know this
- Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 5 polygons grouped in this page.
- Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 1,639 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.
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 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 from each country’s official figure.