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Ban Rai fire, 29 January 2016 บ้านไร่ · Ban Rai, Lan Sak, Mae Poen

Out · last detection 27 Mar 2016, 06:36 UTC

The fire started on 29 January 2016 in Ban Rai, Thailand, and satellites saw it burning for 59 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 82,117 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 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.

Other fire pages in the same area and on the same dates:

It is the largest fire in Uthai Thani Province since 2016 (of 73 with a page). The largest in Thailand in 2016, of 387.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Ban Rai · 2026Ban Rai · 2020Ban Rai · 2019Ban Rai · 2016

Burnt area
82,117ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
59days
29 Jan 2016 – 27 Mar 2016
Municipalities hit
3
districts
Started on
29 Jan
2016
Heat detections
4,233
in a single hotspot: 67 MW
Danger at start
1
Very low · FWI index
Average daily power
292MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 29 Jan27 Mar
27 Mar 2016

How it evolved, day by day

29 Jan 2016 · 11 MW · 4 30 Jan 2016 · 7 MW · 6 31 Jan 2016 · 34 MW · 15 1 Feb 2016 · 19 MW · 9 2 Feb 2016 · 162 MW · 21 3 Feb 2016 · 97 MW · 46 4 Feb 2016 · 36 MW · 10 5 Feb 2016 · 53 MW · 25 6 Feb 2016 · 316 MW · 108 7 Feb 2016 · 283 MW · 73 8 Feb 2016 · 834 MW · 263 9 Feb 2016 · 458 MW · 170 10 Feb 2016 · 100 MW · 42 11 Feb 2016 · 17 MW · 8 12 Feb 2016 · 197 MW · 48 13 Feb 2016 · 318 MW · 68 14 Feb 2016 · 168 MW · 62 15 Feb 2016 · 112 MW · 39 16 Feb 2016 · 35 MW · 7 17 Feb 2016 · 4 MW · 1 18 Feb 2016 · 87 MW · 30 19 Feb 2016 · 161 MW · 61 20 Feb 2016 · 226 MW · 48 21 Feb 2016 · 77 MW · 25 22 Feb 2016 · 31 MW · 16 23 Feb 2016 · 96 MW · 32 24 Feb 2016 · 186 MW · 34 25 Feb 2016 · 24 MW · 25 26 Feb 2016 · 66 MW · 11 27 Feb 2016 · 123 MW · 31 28 Feb 2016 · 299 MW · 88 29 Feb 2016 · 342 MW · 99 1 Mar 2016 · 653 MW · 228 2 Mar 2016 · 423 MW · 157 3 Mar 2016 · 81 MW · 40 4 Mar 2016 · 266 MW · 40 5 Mar 2016 · 462 MW · 107 6 Mar 2016 · 490 MW · 95 7 Mar 2016 · 59 MW · 34 8 Mar 2016 · 569 MW · 87 9 Mar 2016 · 1,251 MW · 147 10 Mar 2016 · 669 MW · 76 11 Mar 2016 · 446 MW · 170 12 Mar 2016 · 1,058 MW · 279 13 Mar 2016 · 845 MW · 181 14 Mar 2016 · 383 MW · 74 15 Mar 2016 · 435 MW · 83 16 Mar 2016 · 569 MW · 120 17 Mar 2016 · 662 MW · 149 18 Mar 2016 · 267 MW · 81 19 Mar 2016 · 323 MW · 59 20 Mar 2016 · 669 MW · 91 21 Mar 2016 · 846 MW · 136 22 Mar 2016 · 527 MW · 158 23 Mar 2016 · 161 MW · 64 24 Mar 2016 · 124 MW · 40 25 Mar 2016 · 31 MW · 9 26 Mar 2016 · 6 MW · 2 27 Mar 2016 · 5 MW · 1
29 Jan 7 Feb 16 Feb 25 Feb 5 Mar 9 Mar 14 Mar 23 Mar

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
49km/h · peak gust
24%lowest humidity

It had gone one day without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 6.3 mm on 28 Mar.

This area had burned before

No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.

How big is it?

20 km
It burned the equivalent of 52% of the area of London (821 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each town

  1. Ban Rai บ้านไร่ where it started
    43,391 ha reached on 29 Jan
    13 %
  2. Lan Sak ลานสัก
    38,464 ha reached on 8 Feb
    26 %
  3. Mae Poen แม่เปิน
    727 ha reached on 8 Feb
    2.2 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area 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)
29 Jan 27.7 °C 62 % 17 km/h 0.4 mm Very low 1
30 Jan 30.8 °C 47 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 5
31 Jan 31.3 °C 33 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
1 Feb 29.2 °C 43 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
2 Feb 26.9 °C 60 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
3 Feb 27.3 °C 54 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
4 Feb 28.0 °C 54 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
5 Feb 28.9 °C 48 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
6 Feb 24.9 °C 52 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
7 Feb 21.3 °C 42 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
8 Feb 21.3 °C 32 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
9 Feb 24.4 °C 37 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
10 Feb 27.4 °C 38 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
11 Feb 29.5 °C 37 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
12 Feb 31.5 °C 41 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
13 Feb 32.2 °C 36 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
14 Feb 32.4 °C 30 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
15 Feb 31.6 °C 44 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
16 Feb 30.7 °C 51 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
17 Feb 30.4 °C 53 % 27 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 15
18 Feb 30.8 °C 47 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
19 Feb 32.5 °C 41 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
20 Feb 31.5 °C 39 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
21 Feb 29.9 °C 53 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
22 Feb 31.1 °C 46 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
23 Feb 31.3 °C 46 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
24 Feb 29.1 °C 62 % 36 km/h 1.0 mm Low 10
25 Feb 26.5 °C 54 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
26 Feb 27.7 °C 49 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
27 Feb 27.4 °C 46 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
28 Feb 28.5 °C 46 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
29 Feb 28.0 °C 45 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
1 Mar 28.0 °C 28 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
2 Mar 29.3 °C 32 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
3 Mar 30.4 °C 37 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
4 Mar 31.8 °C 38 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
5 Mar 31.5 °C 44 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
6 Mar 32.1 °C 45 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
7 Mar 32.5 °C 43 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
8 Mar 34.3 °C 33 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
9 Mar 34.9 °C 27 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
10 Mar 33.0 °C 37 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
11 Mar 33.2 °C 40 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
12 Mar 33.9 °C 40 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
13 Mar 34.2 °C 29 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
14 Mar 34.0 °C 37 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
15 Mar 34.9 °C 33 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
16 Mar 34.7 °C 26 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
17 Mar 36.1 °C 24 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
18 Mar 36.5 °C 24 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
19 Mar 35.9 °C 24 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
20 Mar 36.2 °C 27 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
21 Mar 36.3 °C 32 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
22 Mar 36.4 °C 30 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
23 Mar 35.4 °C 31 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
24 Mar 36.5 °C 25 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
25 Mar 32.6 °C 45 % 36 km/h 0.8 mm High 23
26 Mar 31.8 °C 45 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
27 Mar 29.8 °C 59 % 35 km/h 4.7 mm Very low 5
28 Mar after 27.1 °C 60 % 23 km/h 6.3 mm Very low 1

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 22 Jan 2016
After · 3 Apr 2016

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 · 4,233Every 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 Thailand ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Ban Rai fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 29 January 2016 to 27 March 2016 (59 days). The perimeter dates it from 3 February 2016 to 25 March 2016.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 82,117 hectares (821.2 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Ban Rai (43,391 ha, 13 %); Lan Sak (38,464 ha, 26 %); Mae Poen (727 ha, 2.2 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 36.5 °C, humidity dropped to 24 % and gusts hit 49 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 36, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Thailand (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: 199 · 191 · Emergency number and official warnings ›

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 2 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 25 March 2016 → 27 March 2016.
  2. Start date: 3 February 2016 → 29 January 2016.

RSS Changes to this page

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
What do you think is wrong?

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 199 · 191.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 6 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 3 February 2016 to 25 March 2016. 4,233 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.

How we build fire pages: methodology ›

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 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). 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.