Overall Green Forest fire in The Democratic Republic of Congo from 18 Aug 2026 00:00 UTC to 01 Sep 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 (12167 ha) in The Democratic Republic of Congo 18 Aug 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 1031175
Countries:	The Democratic Republic of Congo
Start Date - Last detection*:	18 Aug 2026 - 02 Sep 2026
Duration (days):	15
People affected:	552 in the burned area
Burned area:	12167 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 Aug 15:26 28 Aug 15:37 29 Aug 15:35 30 Aug 15:41 31 Aug 15:43 01 Sep 12:06 02 Sep 08:38

Impact Timeline

ID	Score	Population Affected	Burned Area (ha)	Last Update	Source
1	0.5	464	5210	27 Aug 2026 14:01	GWIS
2	0.5	481	6594	28 Aug 2026 14:02	GWIS
3	0.5	481	7067	29 Aug 2026 14:02	GWIS
4	0.5	530	8786	30 Aug 2026 14:02	GWIS
5	0.5	532	10647	31 Aug 2026 14:02	GWIS
6	0.5	552	11284	01 Sep 2026 10:01	GWIS
7	0.5	552	12167	02 Sep 2026 06:02	GWIS
8	0.5	552	12181	02 Sep 2026 14:02	GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in The Democratic Republic of Congo , Region of Shaba (population 5,356,509) . The nearest places are Nyunzu, Kalemi, and Mbulula.

Radius	Population
10 km	19000 people
5 km	19000 people
2 km	19000 people
1 km	17000 people
Burned Area	<1000 people

Affected Provinces

Region Province	Country	Population
Shaba	The Democratic Republic of Congo	5.4 million people

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
Nyunzu		700	Civ.	Unpaved	No	3200	49 km
Luishi		1700	Civ.	Unpaved	No	3900	64 km
Kalemie	FMI	783	Civ.	Paved	Yes	5700	103 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.

Disclaimer - Copyright
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.
The JRC is not responsible for any damage or loss resulting from the use of the information presented on this website.
The designations employed and the presentation of material on the map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Union concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.