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Zina fire, 6 January 2026 Zina, Waza, Logone-Birni

Out · last detection 13 Mar 2026, 13:13 UTC

The fire started on 6 January 2026 in Zina, Cameroon, and satellites saw it burning for 66 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 82,158 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 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.

Other fire pages in the same area and on the same dates:

It is the largest fire in Far North since 2016 (of 338 with a page). Number 2 in Cameroon in 2026, of 377.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Zina · 2025Waza · 2017Zina · 2020Zina · 2021

Burnt area
82,158ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
66days
6 Jan 2026 – 12 Mar 2026
Municipalities hit
3
communes
Started on
6 Jan
2026
Heat detections
4,256
in a single hotspot: 152 MW
Danger at start
56
Extreme · FWI index
Average daily power
506MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 6 Jan12 Mar
13 Mar 2026

How it evolved, day by day

6 Jan 2026 · 319 MW · 44 7 Jan 2026 · 145 MW · 17 8 Jan 2026 · 144 MW · 21 9 Jan 2026 · 166 MW · 26 10 Jan 2026 · 111 MW · 18 11 Jan 2026 · 141 MW · 30 12 Jan 2026 · 314 MW · 43 13 Jan 2026 · 183 MW · 25 14 Jan 2026 · 251 MW · 51 15 Jan 2026 · 466 MW · 52 16 Jan 2026 · 954 MW · 99 17 Jan 2026 · 409 MW · 53 18 Jan 2026 · 274 MW · 61 19 Jan 2026 · 187 MW · 29 20 Jan 2026 · 726 MW · 93 21 Jan 2026 · 405 MW · 59 22 Jan 2026 · 257 MW · 46 23 Jan 2026 · 381 MW · 48 24 Jan 2026 · 571 MW · 78 25 Jan 2026 · 494 MW · 73 26 Jan 2026 · 908 MW · 85 27 Jan 2026 · 725 MW · 130 28 Jan 2026 · 974 MW · 138 29 Jan 2026 · 456 MW · 83 30 Jan 2026 · 263 MW · 73 31 Jan 2026 · 586 MW · 63 1 Feb 2026 · 339 MW · 33 2 Feb 2026 · 706 MW · 87 3 Feb 2026 · 449 MW · 74 4 Feb 2026 · 219 MW · 44 5 Feb 2026 · 9 MW · 6 6 Feb 2026 · 585 MW · 69 7 Feb 2026 · 607 MW · 59 8 Feb 2026 · 616 MW · 44 9 Feb 2026 · 243 MW · 37 10 Feb 2026 · 980 MW · 64 11 Feb 2026 · 350 MW · 30 12 Feb 2026 · 1,482 MW · 121 13 Feb 2026 · 658 MW · 86 14 Feb 2026 · 1,343 MW · 142 15 Feb 2026 · 846 MW · 125 16 Feb 2026 · 726 MW · 51 17 Feb 2026 · 631 MW · 137 18 Feb 2026 · 472 MW · 105 19 Feb 2026 · 86 MW · 34 20 Feb 2026 · 494 MW · 67 21 Feb 2026 · 372 MW · 63 22 Feb 2026 · 805 MW · 84 23 Feb 2026 · 1,052 MW · 77 24 Feb 2026 · 672 MW · 124 25 Feb 2026 · 625 MW · 80 26 Feb 2026 · 519 MW · 69 27 Feb 2026 · 569 MW · 59 28 Feb 2026 · 373 MW · 30 1 Mar 2026 · 211 MW · 27 2 Mar 2026 · 876 MW · 100 3 Mar 2026 · 576 MW · 96 4 Mar 2026 · 373 MW · 42 5 Mar 2026 · 633 MW · 45 6 Mar 2026 · 149 MW · 17 7 Mar 2026 · 528 MW · 57 8 Mar 2026 · 670 MW · 48 9 Mar 2026 · 514 MW · 84 13 Mar 2026 · 186 MW · 19
6 Jan 16 Jan 26 Jan 5 Feb 12 Feb 15 Feb 25 Feb 7 Mar

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

The weather it burned in

43°high
41km/h · peak gust
5%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

50% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 4,981 ha in 2016, 16,129 ha in 2017, 4,790 ha in 2018, 2,873 ha in 2019, 10,687 ha in 2020, 7,911 ha in 2021, 4,749 ha in 2022, 6,046 ha in 2023, 5,872 ha in 2024, 8,957 ha in 2025. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 40,953 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 52% of the area of London (822 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. Zina where it started
    45,400 ha reached on 30 Dec
    41 %
  2. Waza
    34,651 ha reached on 11 Jan
    14 %
  3. Logone-Birni
    2,611 ha reached on 13 Jan
    0.9 %

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 2025
Built-up area41 ha
Residents≈ 8,300

Inside the perimeter there were about 41 hectares of built-up land and about 8,300 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 39.2 °C 12 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
31 Dec 39.5 °C 7 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
1 Jan 39.5 °C 8 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
2 Jan 38.1 °C 9 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
3 Jan 37.8 °C 7 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
4 Jan 36.1 °C 10 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
5 Jan 36.6 °C 8 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
6 Jan 37.1 °C 7 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
7 Jan 38.6 °C 8 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
8 Jan 38.1 °C 8 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
9 Jan 36.0 °C 6 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
10 Jan 33.0 °C 11 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
11 Jan 34.6 °C 13 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
12 Jan 35.6 °C 9 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
13 Jan 35.0 °C 10 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
14 Jan 34.9 °C 12 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
15 Jan 34.8 °C 11 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
16 Jan 36.9 °C 10 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
17 Jan 37.5 °C 8 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
18 Jan 37.6 °C 6 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
19 Jan 38.7 °C 7 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
20 Jan 39.5 °C 10 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
21 Jan 39.4 °C 9 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
22 Jan 36.3 °C 9 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
23 Jan 36.8 °C 11 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
24 Jan 36.6 °C 11 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
25 Jan 37.5 °C 9 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
26 Jan 36.0 °C 11 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
27 Jan 34.9 °C 10 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
28 Jan 36.4 °C 8 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
29 Jan 37.9 °C 10 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
30 Jan 37.8 °C 9 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
31 Jan 38.1 °C 9 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
1 Feb 39.0 °C 7 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
2 Feb 39.2 °C 5 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
3 Feb 40.0 °C 9 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
4 Feb 41.2 °C 8 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
5 Feb 39.2 °C 10 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
6 Feb 39.8 °C 10 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
7 Feb 40.9 °C 7 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
8 Feb 39.5 °C 7 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
9 Feb 39.3 °C 7 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
10 Feb 40.1 °C 9 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
11 Feb 40.2 °C 6 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
12 Feb 39.1 °C 7 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
13 Feb 36.6 °C 9 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
14 Feb 40.0 °C 5 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
15 Feb 41.5 °C 10 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
16 Feb 39.9 °C 9 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 73
17 Feb 33.7 °C 11 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
18 Feb 34.0 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
19 Feb 36.2 °C 10 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
20 Feb 37.6 °C 10 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
21 Feb 36.8 °C 11 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
22 Feb 38.4 °C 9 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
23 Feb 36.0 °C 10 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
24 Feb 34.8 °C 11 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
25 Feb 35.3 °C 12 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
26 Feb 35.7 °C 10 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
27 Feb 34.0 °C 9 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
28 Feb 33.6 °C 8 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
1 Mar 34.5 °C 9 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
2 Mar 36.1 °C 10 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
3 Mar 36.1 °C 9 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
4 Mar 35.7 °C 10 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
5 Mar 37.6 °C 8 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
6 Mar 38.4 °C 5 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
7 Mar 39.9 °C 6 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
8 Mar 41.0 °C 7 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
9 Mar 39.6 °C 6 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
10 Mar 40.7 °C 5 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
11 Mar 42.1 °C 6 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
12 Mar 42.7 °C 9 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
13 Mar after 43.3 °C 9 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
14 Mar after 42.7 °C 9 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
15 Mar after 41.4 °C 11 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
16 Mar after 41.2 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
17 Mar after 39.9 °C 9 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
18 Mar after 38.9 °C 7 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 69
19 Mar after 38.7 °C 8 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
20 Mar after 38.4 °C 8 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 72
21 Mar after 38.0 °C 10 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
22 Mar after 38.7 °C 6 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
23 Mar after 40.8 °C 8 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
24 Mar after 41.6 °C 8 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
25 Mar after 42.8 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
26 Mar after 41.0 °C 15 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
27 Mar after 40.9 °C 13 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
28 Mar after 42.5 °C 9 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
29 Mar after 39.6 °C 18 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 30 Dec 2025
After · 19 Mar 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 18 February 2026 the air beside the fire reached 137 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 113: 7.5 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak137 µg/m³
Days over the guideline65 days
PM10544 µg/m³
Optical depth0.89
4567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303112345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728123456789101112131415
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 · 4,256Every 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 Cameroon ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Zina fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 6 January 2026 and 12 March 2026: 66 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 82,158 hectares (821.6 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Zina (45,400 ha, 41 %); Waza (34,651 ha, 14 %); Logone-Birni (2,611 ha, 0.9 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 43.3 °C, humidity dropped to 5 % and gusts hit 41 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 73, class Very extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Cameroon (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.

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
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We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 36 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 4,256 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 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 ADM3 (Open Data Commons Open Database License 1.0). 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.