Uncontrolled wildfires affected communities in southern Chile in January 2026, with severe heat, strong winds, and dry vegetation contributing to the spread of the fires. This recent publicly reported event may be useful for the GEP community as a starting point for EO data discovery, burned-area analysis, change detection, and workflow preparation.
Image: Wildfire in Chile. Source: Wikipedia/Wikimedia. Licence: Public domain. Credit: Fire Information for Resource Management System;
For public context, users can refer to the 2026 Chilean wildfires page and the Disaster Charter activation page.
The source event page provides several public reference products. These are shown as external reference examples, not as GEP outputs.
Image: Burned Area Severity Analysis map, 23 January 2026. Source: Disaster Charter public event page. Credit: Disaster Charter public event page. Product shown as a public reference example, not as a GEP output.
Image: The map of burnt land cover classes, Laja - Nacimiento, 29 January 2026. Source: Disaster Charter public event page. Credit: Disaster Charter public event page. Product shown as a public reference example, not as a GEP output.
Image: Forest fire at Penco in the Biobío Region, real color, 29 January 2026. Source: Disaster Charter public event page. Licence: source/licence should be verified before publication. Credit: Disaster Charter public event page. Product shown as a public reference example, not as a GEP output.
Image: Forest fire at Penco in the Biobío Region, infrared, 29 January 2026. Source: Disaster Charter public event page. Licence: source/licence should be verified before publication. Credit: Disaster Charter public event page. Product shown as a public reference example, not as a GEP output.
For EO data discovery, Sentinel-2 imagery is a useful starting point for mapping burned areas, comparing pre-event and post-event conditions, and generating spectral indices such as NBR and NDVI. Thermal hotspot products may also help with event context where suitable data are available, while change detection can support a first screening of affected surfaces and vegetation impacts.
Data discovery on GEP
Image: Example GEP Geobrowser search results over the event area. Source: GEP Geobrowser screenshot prepared by the operator for this topic. Licence: source/licence should be verified before publication. Credit: GEP operator.
Relevant GEP services
These services may be useful starting points for preparing EO workflows around this event. This does not imply that they have already been run for the event.
- BAS — Burned Areas Severity Analysis — burned-area severity analysis using pre-event and post-event optical imagery, including NBR-derived indicators.
- HOTSPOT — Hotspot Detection — thermal hotspot detection where suitable acquisitions are available and cloud conditions allow interpretation.
- OPT-Index — Optical Spectral Index Generation — optical indices such as NDVI, NDWI, and NBR for surface, vegetation, water, and burn-related analysis.
- CVA — Change Vector Analysis — optical or SAR change detection using change vector analysis between acquisitions.
A practical first step would be to identify cloud-free Sentinel-2 acquisitions before and after 18 January 2026, compare suitable image pairs, and run burned-area or spectral-index workflows to support initial interpretation. The public reference products above can be used only as external examples for comparison.
This topic is shared for community awareness, EO data discovery, and workflow preparation. It is not an official emergency response communication and does not imply that GEP produced the public reference products or is providing operational emergency response support.