Arriaga fire, January 2024 Arriaga, San Pedro Tapanatepec
The fire started on 15 January 2024 in Arriaga, Mexico, and satellites saw it burning for 19 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 6,912 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities. According to CONAFOR, the largest of the 5 recorded fires was detected on 10 January 2024 and declared extinguished on 12 February 2024.
It is the 14th largest in Chiapas since 2016 (of 265 with a page). Number 26 in Mexico in 2024, of 289.
- Burnt area
- 6,912ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 19days
- 15 Jan 2024 – 2 Feb 2024
- Municipalities hit
- 2
- municipalities
- Started on
- 15 Jan
- 2024
- Heat detections
- 479
- in a single hotspot: 45 MW
- Danger at start
- 17
- Moderate · FWI index
- Energy released
- 2.2GW
- sum of detected power
Where it burned
How it evolved, day by day
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
It had gone one day without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 5.8 mm on 18 Feb.
This area had burned before
85% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,287 ha in 2016, 1,295 ha in 2017, 2,495 ha in 2019, 5,143 ha in 2021, 22 ha in 2022, 49 ha in 2023. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 5,892 ha that had burned before.
- 4,618 ha Arriaga fire, March 2021 5,611 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 2,495 ha San Pedro Tapanatepec fire, April 2019 4,561 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,287 ha San Pedro Tapanatepec fire, March 2016 1,672 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 525 ha Arriaga fire, March 2021 2,067 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 147 ha San Pedro Tapanatepec fire, January 2017 2,631 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 48 ha Arriaga fire, December 2023 1,704 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 23 ha Arriaga fire, March 2017 5,611 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 22 ha San Pedro Tapanatepec fire, February 2022 1,764 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
What happened to each town
-
Arriaga where it started3,852 ha reached on 15 Jan4.7 %
-
3,100 ha reached on 10 Jan3.1 %
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.
Official record
According to CONAFOR, 5 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 5,807 ha (the satellite measured 6,912 ha).
- San Pedro Tapanatepec Finca Guadalupe 10 January 2024 3,377 ha · extinguished on 12 February 2024 · cause: negligence
- Arriaga Rancho Alegre/ El Edén 29 January 2024 1,015 ha · extinguished on 3 February 2024 · cause: unknown
- Arriaga El Aguacate/ El Zapotal 23 January 2024 650 ha · extinguished on 29 January 2024 · cause: unknown
- Arriaga Innominado/ Los Ángeles 17 January 2024 604 ha · extinguished on 20 January 2024 · cause: unknown
- Arriaga Rancho Morelia/ El Maluco 21 January 2024 160 ha · extinguished on 23 January 2024 · cause: unknown
CONAFOR (Comisión Nacional Forestal), estadística de incendios forestales en datos.gob.mx (CC BY 4.0). This is the agency’s consolidated statistic: it measures the area in its own way, which is why it can differ from the satellite.
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jan | 27.9 °C | 54 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 11 Jan | 27.9 °C | 59 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 12 Jan | 28.2 °C | 56 % | 36 km/h | 0.7 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 13 Jan | 29.3 °C | 54 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 14 Jan | 30.3 °C | 50 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 15 Jan | 29.2 °C | 54 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 16 Jan | 30.2 °C | 53 % | 54 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 17 Jan | 25.5 °C | 58 % | 58 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 18 Jan | 30.5 °C | 45 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 19 Jan | 29.3 °C | 53 % | 50 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 20 Jan | 27.5 °C | 59 % | 54 km/h | 0.3 mm | High 22 |
| 21 Jan | 27.9 °C | 56 % | 47 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 22 Jan | 29.5 °C | 51 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 23 Jan | 30.5 °C | 48 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 24 Jan | 30.0 °C | 50 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 25 Jan | 31.8 °C | 39 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 26 Jan | 31.4 °C | 49 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 27 Jan | 30.9 °C | 48 % | 45 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 28 Jan | 26.2 °C | 56 % | 79 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 33 |
| 29 Jan | 24.1 °C | 53 % | 78 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 34 |
| 30 Jan | 25.9 °C | 46 % | 66 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 31 Jan | 26.3 °C | 47 % | 56 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 1 Feb | 28.2 °C | 46 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 2 Feb | 27.9 °C | 49 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 3 Feb after | 26.8 °C | 64 % | 49 km/h | 3.3 mm | Low 7 |
| 4 Feb after | 27.6 °C | 65 % | 35 km/h | 3.4 mm | Very low 4 |
| 5 Feb after | 28.7 °C | 41 % | 66 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 6 Feb after | 24.9 °C | 40 % | 65 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 7 Feb after | 28.0 °C | 39 % | 45 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 8 Feb after | 27.8 °C | 52 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 9 Feb after | 28.3 °C | 42 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 10 Feb after | 27.3 °C | 54 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 11 Feb after | 28.7 °C | 48 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 12 Feb after | 31.1 °C | 42 % | 53 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 13 Feb after | 25.9 °C | 54 % | 60 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 26 |
| 14 Feb after | 29.4 °C | 48 % | 44 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 15 Feb after | 30.5 °C | 51 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 16 Feb after | 30.0 °C | 53 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 17 Feb after | 28.5 °C | 56 % | 30 km/h | 0.2 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 18 Feb after | 24.0 °C | 56 % | 67 km/h | 5.8 mm | Low 6 |
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.
The smoke
CAMS · CopernicusOn 2 February 2024 the air beside the fire reached 18 µg/m³ of PM2.5, but no daily average passed the WHO guideline (15).
Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.
Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)
Detections table · 479Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Arriaga fire last?
- GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 15 January 2024 and 2 February 2024: 19 days between the first and last heat detection of the perimeter. According to CONAFOR, the largest of the 5 recorded fires was detected on 10 January 2024 and declared extinguished on 12 February 2024.
- How much area did it burn?
- The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 6,912 hectares (69.1 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 2 municipalities: Arriaga (3,852 ha, 4.7 %); San Pedro Tapanatepec (3,100 ha, 3.1 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 31.8 °C, humidity dropped to 39 % and gusts hit 79 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 34, class High.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Mexico (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: 911
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.
Report an error
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 (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.