29 May 2026
Preliminary assessment of the Doñana National Park Wildfire: 500 hectares affected, predominantly at low and moderate severity levels
A preliminary analysis conducted by the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) estimates that the recent wildfire in Doñana National Park affected approximately 500 hectares, with most of the burned area exhibiting low to moderate-low fire severity and only a limited extent of highly affected zones.
Map of the Doñana wildfire severity. Credit: Diego García Díaz / LAST-EBD
A preliminary assessment carried out by the GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) estimates that the wildfire that broke out on May 24 in the heart of Doñana National Park, and was declared under control on the afternoon of May 27, affected approximately 500 hectares.
The fire spread primarily through Mediterranean pine forests and associated dune systems of exceptionally high ecological value. The assessment was conducted using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from the European Space Agency’s Copernicus programme.
According to the preliminary results, most of the burned area shows low to moderate-low fire severity, a pattern consistent with understory fires in Mediterranean pine woodlands. Areas of high severity were limited to specific locations and account for only a small proportion of the total affected surface.
The analysis indicates that the burned areas are concentrated mainly along the interdunal corridors—elongated depressions occupied by pine forests and Mediterranean scrub vegetation—aligned in a northwest-to-southeast direction.
In addition, active dunes and sandy surfaces, which are partially free of flammable vegetation, acted as natural firebreaks in many sectors, helping to limit the spread of the wildfire. The fire also did not reach the marshland areas, where abundant surface water during the spring likely contributed to slowing its advance. Weather conditions, and particularly the prevailing wind direction, also played a decisive role in limiting the final extent of the fire.
Por otro lado, las condiciones meteorológicas y, especialmente, la dirección dominante del viento, resultaron determinantes para limitar la extensión final del incendio.
LThe burned area provides habitat for mammal species such as the Iberian lynx, red deer, fallow deer, wild boar, red fox, Egyptian mongoose, and common genet.
The area is also home to several birds of prey currently in their breeding season, including the red kite, listed as Endangered in Spain’s National Catalogue of Threatened Species, and the Iberian Imperial Eagle, classified as Vulnerable globally on the IUCN Red List.
The affected zone also supports threatened plant species, including the coastal juniper (Juniperus ox-ycedrus subsp. macrocarpa), for which Doñana represents one of the main conservation strongholds in Spain, and the heath species Erica ciliaris, classified as Vulnerable, among many others
Technical notes:
The analysis was conducted by Diego García Díaz of the GIS and Remote Sensing Laboratory at the Doñana Biological Station. The methodology was based on the calculation of the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and its temporal dif-ference (dNBR), one of the most widely used international approaches for mapping burned areas and assessing wildfire severity.
It is important to note that these estimates are preliminary and are constrained by the spatial resolution of the satellite imagery used. In narrow or heterogeneous areas, individual pixels may contain a mixture of burned surfaces and bare sand, potentially reducing the observed severity values. Nevertheless, the results provide a robust initial assessment that is consistent with patterns observed in the field.
