Wildfires in South Africa
161 wildfires have been recorded in South Africa by Global Incident Tracker, 161 of them in 2026. The most recent was on 10 October 2026. These are incidents our sources reported, not an official national total.
0
Today (UTC)
31
Last 7 days
161
In 2026
161
Total recorded
Continuous monitoring began 9 August 2026. These counters show what we have recorded since then, not everything that happened.
Most recent wildfires in South Africa
Active fire cluster 26 km E of Mokopane, South Africa — 14 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster at Secunda, South Africa — 10 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 53 km N of Middelburg, South Africa — 12 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 16 km SE of Virginia, South Africa — 13 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 27 km S of Harrismith, South Africa — 14 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 40 km NE of Khowa, South Africa — 15 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 54 km W of Whittlesea, South Africa — 21 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 34 km NNE of Fort Beaufort, South Africa — 12 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 94 km WNW of Louis Trichardt, South Africa — 13 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 57 km NNE of Vaalwater, South Africa — 34 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 19 km ENE of Acornhoek, South Africa — 10 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 21 km WNW of Empuluzu, South Africa — 13 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 83 km NNE of Mtubatuba, South Africa — 15 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 51 km SSW of Volksrust, South Africa — 14 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 33 km W of Vaalwater, South Africa — 11 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 18 km ENE of Acornhoek, South Africa — 25 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 20 km NNW of Kamaqhekeza, South Africa — 13 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 58 km SSW of Lydenburg, South Africa — 5 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 4 km W of Frischgewaagd, South Africa — 5 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 42 km NNE of Postmasburg, South Africa — 10 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 47 km NE of Breyten, South Africa — 8 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 17 km ENE of Breyten, South Africa — 1 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 23 km WNW of Empuluzu, South Africa — 17 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 27 km SSW of Riversdale, South Africa — 9 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 29 km SSW of Riversdale, South Africa — 7 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 21 km W of Frischgewaagd, South Africa — 10 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 15 km SSE of Volksrust, South Africa — 13 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 23 km WNW of Ladysmith, South Africa — 12 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 22 km WNW of Vryheid, South Africa — 15 satellite hotspots
Moderate
Active fire cluster 12 km N of Empuluzu, South Africa — 10 satellite hotspots
Moderate
When they happen
September carries the most wildfires we hold for South Africa — 96 of 161. This is when incidents were reported, so read a quiet month as either a quiet month or thin reporting.
| Month | Recorded | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | |
| February | 0 | |
| March | 0 | |
| April | 0 | |
| May | 0 | |
| June | 0 | |
| July | 4 | |
| August | 14 | |
| September | 96 | |
| October | 47 | |
| November | 0 | |
| December | 0 |
Where this data comes from
Wildfires have official real-time feeds, and ours come from NASA FIRMS · NASA EONET · GDACS · Meteoalarm.