Forest Fire (6786 ha) in Central African Republic 16 Jan 2026

Event summary

This forest fire is expected to have a low humanitarian impact based on the burned area and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID WF 1027040
Countries: Central African Republic
Start Date - Last detection*: 16 Jan 2026 - 21 Jan 2026
Duration (days): 5
People affected: 0 in the burned area
Burned area: 6786 ha
More Info: Global Wildfire Information System

*(Last detection of the thermal anomaly of the fire)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS score click here.

Detailed event map. European Union, 2026. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.


Impact Timeline

IDLevelScorePopulation AffectedBurned Area (ha)Last UpdateSource
1 0.5 0 5059 19 Jan 2026 11:00 GWIS
2 0.5 0 5340 19 Jan 2026 15:00 GWIS
3 0.5 0 5424 20 Jan 2026 11:00 GWIS
4 0.5 0 6275 20 Jan 2026 15:00 GWIS
5 0.5 0 6421 21 Jan 2026 03:00 GWIS
6 0.5 0 6629 21 Jan 2026 07:00 GWIS
7 0.5 0 6625 21 Jan 2026 11:00 GWIS
8 0.5 0 6786 31 Jan 2026 19:00 GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in Central African Republic , Prefecture of Bamingui-Bangoran (population 33,555) . The nearest places are and Ndélé.



Radius Population
10 km no people
5 km no people
2 km no people
1 km no people
Burned Area no people


Affected Provinces

Region Province Country Population
Bamingui-Bangoran Central African Republic 34000 people
Salamat Chad 190000 people
Moyen-Chari Chad 740000 people

Affected populated places

Name Region Province Country City class Population Distance
Ndélé Bamingui-Bangoran Central African Republic City 12000 people 84 km

see full list

Critical infrastructure

Airports, ports, nuclear plants and hydrodams at risk, if affected, are listed below.

Airports

Name IATA Code Elevation (m) Usage Runway type IFR Runway Length (ft) Distance
Ndele West 350 0 64 km
Ndele NDL unknown 0 85 km

Ports

Dams

Nuclear plants

More information

For a full list of available products related to this event, please refer to the GDACS Resources page.