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Armidale fire, October 2019 Walcha, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Armidale

Out · last detection 14 Jan 2020, 04:14 UTC

The fire started on 17 October 2019 in Armidale, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 90 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 627,676 hectares from heat detections, spread across 7 municipalities.

This page is probably a fire complex, not a single fire. GWIS merges into one perimeter the fires that touch over weeks, which in large burning seasons can join dozens of separate fires. The total area is reliable; the origin and dates refer to the whole complex.

It is the 2th largest in New South Wales since 2016 (of 130 with a page). Number 3 in Australia in 2019, of 802.

Burnt area
627,676ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
90days
17 Oct 2019 – 14 Jan 2020
Municipalities hit
7
local government areas
Started on
17 Oct
2019
Heat detections
68,692
in a single hotspot: 752 MW
Danger at start
18
Moderate · FWI index
Energy released
767.2GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

14 Jan 2020
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 17 Oct14 Jan

How it evolved, day by day

171819202122232425262728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222325262728291234567891011121415161718192021222326272829303112345678101314

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

36°high
104km/h · peak gust
11%lowest humidity

It had gone 3 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 12.9 mm on 15 Jan.

This area had burned before

10% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 24,761 ha in 2016, 29,753 ha in 2017, 10,547 ha in 2018. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 61,073 ha that had burned before.

What happened to each town

  1. Walcha
    218,862 ha reached on 16 Oct
    35 %
  2. Port Macquarie-Hastings
    133,293 ha reached on 24 Oct
    36 %
  3. Armidale where it started
    127,573 ha reached on 16 Oct
    16 %
  4. Kempsey
    125,201 ha reached on 17 Oct
    37 %
  5. Bellingen
    15,180 ha reached on 26 Nov
    9.4 %
  6. Mid-Coast
    5,861 ha reached on 17 Oct
    0.6 %
  7. Nambucca Valley
    3,545 ha reached on 17 Oct
    2.4 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance is from the town centre to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
17 Oct 27.5 °C 24 % 88 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
18 Oct 22.9 °C 15 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
19 Oct 23.3 °C 15 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
20 Oct 20.5 °C 25 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
21 Oct 19.3 °C 38 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
22 Oct 21.6 °C 42 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 11
23 Oct 24.2 °C 28 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
24 Oct 25.5 °C 28 % 41 km/h 0.9 mm Low 10
25 Oct 27.0 °C 23 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
26 Oct 28.4 °C 24 % 80 km/h 0.1 mm High 23
27 Oct 22.6 °C 32 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
28 Oct 19.6 °C 53 % 45 km/h 6.2 mm Very low 1
29 Oct 23.3 °C 37 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 5
30 Oct 24.4 °C 33 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
31 Oct 23.8 °C 39 % 40 km/h 0.1 mm Low 11
1 Nov 23.3 °C 40 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
2 Nov 23.1 °C 44 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
3 Nov 26.4 °C 37 % 46 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 12
4 Nov 25.5 °C 33 % 43 km/h 2.7 mm Very low 4
5 Nov 15.6 °C 41 % 68 km/h 2.8 mm Very low 3
6 Nov 24.7 °C 21 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
7 Nov 28.0 °C 15 % 64 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
8 Nov 27.9 °C 13 % 74 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
9 Nov 18.8 °C 17 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
10 Nov 23.2 °C 24 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
11 Nov 25.2 °C 22 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
12 Nov 29.5 °C 14 % 64 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
13 Nov 25.9 °C 11 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
14 Nov 25.3 °C 16 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
15 Nov 28.3 °C 13 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
16 Nov 28.1 °C 20 % 53 km/h 0.3 mm High 30
17 Nov 25.3 °C 21 % 59 km/h 0.1 mm High 31
18 Nov 25.5 °C 24 % 50 km/h 0.3 mm High 28
19 Nov 30.6 °C 14 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
20 Nov 28.0 °C 27 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
21 Nov 29.9 °C 35 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
22 Nov 32.5 °C 20 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
23 Nov 30.0 °C 28 % 36 km/h 1.6 mm Moderate 14
24 Nov 22.6 °C 61 % 37 km/h 6.4 mm Very low 1
25 Nov 24.8 °C 51 % 37 km/h 5.2 mm Very low 1
26 Nov 28.8 °C 28 % 67 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 12
27 Nov 23.6 °C 39 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
28 Nov 28.3 °C 26 % 50 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 19
29 Nov 30.0 °C 32 % 52 km/h 1.2 mm Moderate 14
30 Nov 27.4 °C 36 % 70 km/h 5.3 mm Very low 4
1 Dec 22.8 °C 47 % 67 km/h 6.6 mm Very low 1
2 Dec 18.7 °C 34 % 104 km/h 0.4 mm Low 9
3 Dec 24.9 °C 20 % 58 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
4 Dec 25.9 °C 17 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
5 Dec 28.7 °C 16 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
6 Dec 30.5 °C 15 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
7 Dec 30.0 °C 16 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
8 Dec 24.8 °C 48 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
9 Dec 28.3 °C 43 % 49 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 16
10 Dec 33.7 °C 20 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
11 Dec 27.2 °C 54 % 35 km/h 4.3 mm Very low 2
12 Dec 24.1 °C 61 % 49 km/h 1.1 mm Very low 3
13 Dec 19.2 °C 72 % 32 km/h 4.2 mm Very low 0
14 Dec 28.1 °C 28 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Low 5
15 Dec 31.2 °C 21 % 38 km/h 0.6 mm Moderate 15
16 Dec 30.3 °C 19 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
17 Dec 25.0 °C 42 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
18 Dec 25.8 °C 34 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
19 Dec 33.1 °C 24 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
20 Dec 29.5 °C 43 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
21 Dec 35.9 °C 23 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
22 Dec 27.6 °C 52 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
23 Dec 22.7 °C 69 % 47 km/h 1.8 mm Very low 3
24 Dec 28.0 °C 43 % 41 km/h 11.3 mm Very low 1
25 Dec 19.8 °C 87 % 32 km/h 7.8 mm Very low 0
26 Dec 23.3 °C 49 % 40 km/h 0.4 mm Very low 0
27 Dec 24.2 °C 45 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
28 Dec 26.2 °C 37 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
29 Dec 29.6 °C 26 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
30 Dec 30.2 °C 23 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
31 Dec 32.1 °C 23 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
1 Jan 30.9 °C 40 % 36 km/h 0.8 mm Low 10
2 Jan 29.4 °C 50 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
3 Jan 29.5 °C 46 % 40 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 12
4 Jan 35.8 °C 26 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
5 Jan 30.6 °C 47 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
6 Jan 28.4 °C 45 % 46 km/h 1.7 mm Low 7
7 Jan 28.4 °C 47 % 38 km/h 3.5 mm Very low 2
8 Jan 31.3 °C 39 % 42 km/h 2.8 mm Very low 3
9 Jan 28.5 °C 54 % 35 km/h 5.0 mm Very low 1
10 Jan 29.4 °C 52 % 42 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 4
11 Jan 30.7 °C 40 % 59 km/h 7.1 mm Very low 2
12 Jan 21.5 °C 47 % 48 km/h 4.8 mm Very low 1
13 Jan 23.5 °C 42 % 45 km/h 0.4 mm Very low 2
14 Jan 24.5 °C 52 % 47 km/h 1.1 mm Very low 3
15 Jan after 21.2 °C 80 % 34 km/h 12.9 mm Very low 0

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 10 Oct 2019
After · 21 Jan 2020

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

Detections table · 68,692Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Australia ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Armidale fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 17 October 2019 and 14 January 2020: 90 days between the first and last heat detection of the perimeter.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 627,676 hectares (6,276.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 7 municipalities: Walcha (218,862 ha, 35 %); Port Macquarie-Hastings (133,293 ha, 36 %); Armidale (127,573 ha, 16 %); Kempsey (125,201 ha, 37 %); Bellingen (15,180 ha, 9.4 %); Mid-Coast (5,861 ha, 0.6 %); Nambucca Valley (3,545 ha, 2.4 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 35.9 °C, humidity dropped to 11 % and gusts hit 104 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 31, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Australia (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Emergency number: 000

Satellite cross-check

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

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We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 000.

Where this data comes from

The perimeter comes from the Copernicus Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), which rebuilds it from MODIS and VIIRS heat detections and publishes it under CC BY 4.0. It is not measured on imagery as in Europe, so it is an estimate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Municipal boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM2 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ from each country’s official figure.