Landiras Wildfire 2022 — Burn Severity Map & Satellite Analysis

About this fire

The Landiras wildfire was the largest wildfire in France in over 50 years. Ignited on 12 July 2022 in the Landes de Gascogne forest, south of Bordeaux, it burned through bone-dry maritime pine plantations during an unprecedented heatwave that pushed temperatures to 42°C in the region. A second fire, starting 9 August in the same area (often called Landiras 2), compounded the damage.

The two fires combined consumed roughly 30,000 hectares of maritime pine forest, scrubland, and some agricultural land. Over 40,000 people were evacuated from surrounding towns and campsites. The fire was a wake-up call for France: a country that had historically considered large wildfires a Mediterranean problem watched one burn in the temperate southwest, driven by climate change-induced drought and heat. The economic impact fell hardest on the timber industry — the Landes forest is Europe’s largest artificial forest, planted with maritime pine for paper and construction.

Timeline & severity

Date	Event
12 Jul 2022	Fire ignites in Landiras during a 42°C heatwave
12–18 Jul 2022	Rapid spread through bone-dry maritime pine plantations; 40,000+ evacuated
9 Aug 2022	Second fire (Landiras 2) starts in the same area, compounding the damage
13 Aug 2022	Fire finally contained after over a month
Post-fire	~30,000 ha burned; timber industry severely impacted

Ecologically, the fire destroyed habitat for protected species and released stored carbon. Reforestation began almost immediately but will take 30+ years to restore the pine stands to maturity.

Satellite analysis

This page presents a dNBR (differenced Normalized Burn Ratio) burn severity analysis computed from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Burn severity is measured by comparing satellite imagery from before and after the fire: healthy vegetation reflects strongly in near-infrared and absorbs shortwave-infrared, while fire reverses this pattern. dNBR quantifies that change on the USGS standard scale, classifying every pixel from unburned through low, moderate, and high severity.

The severity breakdown table quantifies the area in each class — critical information for the timber industry, reforestation planning, and insurance assessment.

Read our full guide: What is NBR? →

Recovery outlook

The Landes forest — Europe’s largest artificial pine plantation — faces a 30+ year recovery timeline. Reforestation began almost immediately after the fire, but maritime pine requires decades to reach commercial maturity. Satellite monitoring of vegetation indices (NDVI, NDMI, NBR) will be essential to track regrowth, identify areas where natural regeneration is struggling, and guide replanting decisions. The fire also created erosion risk on exposed slopes, particularly before winter rains — a secondary concern that satellite monitoring can help anticipate and mitigate.

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