Navotas landfill fire has grown to half the size of Rizal Park

MANILA, Philippines, April 22 ------ A fire that broke out at a landfill in Navotas on April 10 has scorched an estimated 28.6 hectares as of April 16, according to satellite analysis released by the Philippine Space Agency.

The burned area in the inactive landfill is about half the size of Rizal Park, which spans around 58 hectares. The space agency said the estimated size of the burned area was based on a Sentinel-2C satellite image captured at 10:33 a.m. on April 16, six days after the fire was first reported.

The agency had mapped the affected area using near-infrared data, which can detect burned surfaces. The results were provided to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to support response operations, according to its news release. Maps are “subject to field validation,” the agency said, but it added that satellite imagery allows authorities to monitor large-scale disasters and prioritize areas for intervention.

The blaze has been contained within the facility perimeter since April 12 but has yet to be extinguished. As a result, seven Metro Manila cities have also recorded unhealthy air, based on the monitoring of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Air in Marikina and Valenzuela has been classified as "acutely unhealthy," while Caloocan, Malabon, and parts of Quezon City are "very unhealthy." Meanwhile, air in San Juan and Navotas is "unhealthy for sensitive groups."

PhilSA earlier said the landfill haze has reached as far as Bataan. The Navotas landfill has been non-operational since August 2025.

Source: philstar.com