Patagonia’s forests burned fiercely in February 2025, with wildfires destroying tens of thousands of hectares in Argentina.
The Magdalena Valley fire was one of the worst, intensified by scorching heat, strong winds, and low humidity. The fire season, already extreme, was worsened by record-breaking temperatures, and additional fires erupted across the region.
Fires Ravage Patagonia’s Andean Slopes
In February 2025, multiple wildfires erupted along the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains in Patagonia, devastating vast areas of forest. By February 11, the fires had consumed approximately 30,000 hectares (115 square miles) of land in south-central Argentina, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate, according to news reports.
One of the most intense blazes, the Magdalena Valley fire, was burning in Lanín National Park. NASA’s Aqua satellite captured visible smoke from the fire on February 9 using its MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument (image below). A closer view, taken the same day by the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9, shows smoke moving through the Magdalena Valley (image above).
The Magdalena Valley Fire’s Devastation
The Magdalena Valley fire ignited in late January and had already scorched over 15,000 hectares (58 square miles) of Lanín National Park by February 10. This heavily forested park in Argentina borders Chile’s Villarrica National Park. The two parks are home to the snowcapped, dormant volcanoes Lanín and Quetrupillán, which can be seen in satellite images.
Peak Fire Season: Summer in Patagonia
The austral summer (December through February) is the dry season in Chile and Argentina when wildfires are more common. This year, strong winds and unusually high temperatures fueled the region’s blazes, which began in December 2024.
Warm, dry wind from the west crossed the Andes and swept through Lanín National Park at speeds up to 45 kilometers (28 miles) per hour in early February. As the wind flowed down the lee side of the Andes, it compressed, increasing the air temperature and driving down humidity. A similar phenomenon occurs during the Chinook Winds, which flow down the east side of the Rocky Mountains.
René Garreaud, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Chile, noted that westerly winds crossing the Andes were stronger than average from early January to early February.
Record Heatwave Fuels the Fires
Central and northern Argentina were especially hot in January and early February 2025. Maximum temperatures hovered around 35-45 degrees Celsius (95-113 degrees Fahrenheit), which is 3-5°C above normal, according to Argentina’s national weather service. The weather service noted that these “extreme temperatures” were expected to persist in parts of the country until February 12.
Two other fires burned south of the Magdalena Valley fire in Argentina on February 11. By that day, the Los Manzanos fire had scorched 10,000 hectares of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, according to officials, and the Confluencia fire had burned over 3,600 hectares near the town of El Bolsón.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey and MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.
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2 Comments
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We live at the base of Quetrupillán. In May, a freak snowstorm hit before any of the trees had shed their leaves. The snow was wet and heavy, and a lot of trees were toppled. We hike in this area often, and it’s just littered with dead debris. This could have been a lot worse. Thanks to everyone who helped to fight this