Overall Green Forest fire in Benin from 19 Jan 2026 00:00 UTC to 02 Feb 2026 00:00 UTC

GDACS is a cooperation framework between the United Nations, the European Commission and disaster managers worldwide to improve awareness, information exchange and coordination in the first phase after major sudden-onset disasters.

Forest Fire (18589 ha) in Benin 19 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 1027199
Countries:	Benin
Start Date - Last detection*:	19 Jan 2026 - 02 Feb 2026
Duration (days):	14
People affected:	20 in the burned area
Burned area:	18589 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.

27 Jan 04:06 27 Jan 08:06 27 Jan 16:06 28 Jan 00:07 28 Jan 16:08 29 Jan 16:14 30 Jan 16:10 02 Feb 16:14 03 Feb 20:14

Impact Timeline

ID	Score	Population Affected	Burned Area (ha)	Last Update	Source
1	0.5	11	8185	27 Jan 2026 03:00	GWIS
2	0.5	11	8226	27 Jan 2026 07:00	GWIS
3	0.5	11	8430	27 Jan 2026 15:00	GWIS
4	0.5	11	9020	27 Jan 2026 23:00	GWIS
5	0.5	11	9029	28 Jan 2026 15:00	GWIS
6	0.5	13	9888	29 Jan 2026 15:00	GWIS
7	0.5	14	10169	30 Jan 2026 15:00	GWIS
8	0.5	20	18547	02 Feb 2026 15:00	GWIS
9	0.5	20	18589	03 Feb 2026 19:00	GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in Benin , Province of Atakora (population 745,117) . The nearest places are Sokodé, and Djougou.

Radius	Population
10 km	1200 people
5 km	<1000 people
2 km	<1000 people
1 km	<1000 people
Burned Area	<1000 people

Affected Provinces

Region Province	Country	Population
Atakora	Benin	750000 people
Zou	Benin	890000 people
Borgou	Benin	760000 people
Nyala	Togo	-

Affected populated places

Name	Region Province	Country	City class	Population	Distance
Sokodé		Togo	City	81000 people	83 km
Djougou		Benin	City	200000 people	107 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
Sokode		370	Civ.	Unpaved	No	3200	83 km
Save	SVF	181				0	105 km
Parakou	PKO	386	Civ.	Unpaved	No	5200	105 km
Djougou	DJA	unknown				0	107 km

Ports

Dams

Reservoir	Dam Name	River	Year	Distance
	Ilauko	Ilauko	1979	93 km

Nuclear plants

More information

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

Disclaimer
While we try everything to ensure accuracy, this information is purely indicative and should not be used for any decision making without alternate sources of information.
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