Overall Green Forest fire in Zambia from 18 Jul 2026 00:00 UTC to 31 Jul 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 (19039 ha) in Zambia 18 Jul 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 1029778
Countries:	Zambia
Start Date - Last detection*:	18 Jul 2026 - 31 Jul 2026
Duration (days):	13
People affected:	3338 in the burned area
Burned area:	19039 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.

26 Jul 15:19 27 Jul 15:30 28 Jul 19:30 29 Jul 11:33 30 Jul 11:31 30 Jul 15:43 31 Jul 15:47 01 Aug 15:53

Impact Timeline

ID	Score	Population Affected	Burned Area (ha)	Last Update	Source
1	0.5	2870	8654	26 Jul 2026 14:02	GWIS
2	0.5	2888	11965	27 Jul 2026 14:01	GWIS
3	0.5	2888	12246	28 Jul 2026 18:01	GWIS
4	0.5	2984	15219	29 Jul 2026 10:01	GWIS
5	0.5	3330	18315	30 Jul 2026 10:00	GWIS
6	0.5	3330	18362	30 Jul 2026 14:01	GWIS
7	0.5	3334	18803	31 Jul 2026 14:02	GWIS
8	0.5	3338	19039	01 Aug 2026 14:01	GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in Zambia , Province of Luapula (population 591,393) . The nearest places are and Mufulira.

Radius	Population
10 km	39000 people
5 km	12000 people
2 km	7900 people
1 km	7000 people
Burned Area	3300 people

Affected Provinces

Region Province	Country	Population
Luapula	Zambia	590000 people
Shaba	The Democratic Republic of Congo	5.4 million people

Affected populated places

Name	Region Province	Country	City class	Population	Distance
Mufulira	Copperbelt	Zambia	City	120000 people	99 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
Mansa	MNS	1250	Civ.	Paved	Yes	5600	74 km
East Eight		1219	Civ.	Unpaved	No	3000	87 km
Mufulira		1326	Civ.	Unpaved	No	4100	98 km
Samfya		1158	Civ.	Unpaved	No	3600	100 km
East Seven		1219	Civ.	Unpaved	No	3000	110 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.

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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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