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Biltine fire, November 2017 Biltine, Batha Est

Out · last measured on 24 Nov 2017

The fire started on 23 November 2017 in Biltine, Chad, and satellites saw it burning for 2 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 2,798 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.

It is the 19th largest in Wadi Fira since 2016 (of 27 with a page). Number 74 in Chad in 2017, of 171.

We have the GWIS perimeter for this fire, but the VIIRS sensors did not capture it in enough detail: no day-by-day evolution, but the split by municipality is there.

Burnt area
2,798ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
2days
23 Nov 2017 – 24 Nov 2017
Municipalities hit
2
departments
Started on
23 Nov
2017
Danger at start
70
Extreme · FWI index

Where it burned

The weather it burned in

31°high
47km/h · peak gust
11%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

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

What happened to each town

  1. Biltine where it started
    2,010 ha
    0.1 %
  2. Batha Est
    807 ha
    0.0 %

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)
23 Nov 29.1 °C 16 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 70
24 Nov 31.0 °C 11 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
25 Nov after 32.0 °C 8 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
26 Nov after 31.4 °C 7 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
27 Nov after 32.0 °C 11 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
28 Nov after 33.8 °C 10 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
29 Nov after 33.7 °C 11 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
30 Nov after 34.0 °C 11 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
1 Dec after 33.2 °C 9 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
2 Dec after 33.3 °C 7 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
3 Dec after 34.7 °C 8 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
4 Dec after 35.5 °C 9 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 16 Nov 2017
After · 1 Dec 2017

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

Other fires nearby

All fires in Chad ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Biltine fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 23 November 2017 and 24 November 2017: 2 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 2,798 hectares (28.0 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Biltine (2,010 ha, 0.1 %); Batha Est (807 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 31.0 °C, humidity dropped to 11 % and gusts hit 47 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 70, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Chad (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.

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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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.