Cabeceiras de Basto fire, 2 September 2016
Abadim, Cabeceiras de Basto, Salto
Out · last detection 6 Sept 2016, 02:50 UTC
The fire started on 2 September 2016 in Cabeceiras de Basto, Portugal, and satellites saw it burning for 5 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 125 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 3 freguesias.
It is the 16th largest in Cabeceiras de Basto since 2016 (of 22 with a page). Number 157 in Portugal in 2016, of 180.
matches the official recordwith caveatssatellite onlymodel
When copying, the sentence is
Tick the figures you want: they make up the lede and the CSV.
Burned area
with caveats
125ha
Perimeter published by EFFIS (Copernicus).
This page125ICNF80
Source
EFFIS (Copernicus)
Date
perimeter revised on 26 January 2022
+− cross-check
ICNF: 80 ha (matched records: 1). Difference between the page and the official record: +56.2%. Matched on 1 November 2026. The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
Duration by satellite
satellite only
5days
2 Sept 2016 to 6 Sept 2016: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
EFFIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 6 Sept 2016, 02:50 UTC
+− cross-check
Satellites pass a few times a day and cloud or smoke can hide the fire: a lack of detections is not an official extinction. Each country’s emergency service declares a fire contained or out.
Start
satellite only
2 Sept 2016
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
EFFIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
2 Sept 2016
+− cross-check
The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
Hotspots
satellite only
10
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 34 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
2 Sept 2016 – 6 Sept 2016
+− cross-check
There is no official record to compare with. Each hotspot is a pixel detected in one satellite pass, not a separate fire.
The worst day
satellite only
118MW
Total radiative power on 6 September 2016; hotspots that day: 10.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
6 Sept 2016
+− cross-check
Fire radiative power (FRP) measures the energy the fire gives off when the satellite passes. Added up by day, it compares intensity, not area.
Danger at the start
model
26.7FWI · high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 8.
This is an index computed from weather model data, not a measurement of the fire nor an official warning. Danger warnings are issued by each country’s authority. Emergency number and official warnings ›
Weather during the fire
model
30.7°C · 24% RH
High of 30.7 °C and minimum humidity of 24% on 6 September 2016; gusts of 46 km/h on 6 September 2016.
These are model values for a cell of about 25 km, not from a weather station: they may differ from what was measured on the ground.
ⓘThis page’s change log has been kept since 24 October 2026: every night what it publishes is compared and the difference is logged. Anything earlier is reconstructed from each source’s date and marked as reconstructed.
Show
· reconstructedweather
Weather and FWI computed from the ERA5 reanalysis
· reconstructedofficial
Matched with the official ICNF record
Nearby records with very different figures: 80 ha (records: 1).
A version keeps the area, dates, name and official record; the area as it was logged (changes under 2% are not logged). The map, hotspots and weather always show today’s data.
Citation
A lede of about 60 words figures only, no adjectives
Burnt area inside each freguesia, from crossing the official 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.
What burned
Scrub and transitional woodland50 %
Other natural land50 %
Land cover inside the perimeter according to Corine Land Cover, as reported by Copernicus.
People and buildings inside the perimeter
GHSL 2015
Built-up area0.12ha
Residents< 20
Inside the perimeter there were about 0.12 hectares of built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2015, satellite-based estimate).
This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned.
According to ICNF, this fire started on 5 September 2016 and burned 80 ha (the satellite measured 125 ha). The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
Cabeceiras de BastoAbadim5 September 2016 · 20:4480 ha· extinguished on 6 September 2016· cause: arson
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)
2 Sept
27.2 °C
35 %
30 km/h
0.0 mm
High 27
3 Sept
27.6 °C
30 %
31 km/h
0.0 mm
High 30
4 Sept
27.3 °C
29 %
34 km/h
0.0 mm
High 36
5 Sept
28.4 °C
28 %
23 km/h
0.0 mm
High 29
6 Sept
30.7 °C
24 %
46 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 39
7 Sept after
25.0 °C
38 %
39 km/h
0.0 mm
High 37
8 Sept after
21.1 °C
42 %
36 km/h
0.0 mm
High 27
9 Sept after
21.6 °C
36 %
39 km/h
0.0 mm
High 26
10 Sept after
21.2 °C
51 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
High 23
11 Sept after
23.1 °C
47 %
32 km/h
0.0 mm
High 25
12 Sept after
23.4 °C
45 %
46 km/h
0.0 mm
High 29
13 Sept after
15.5 °C
63 %
54 km/h
26.8 mm
Very low 1
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 26.7, a minimum humidity of 35% and 8 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 30.
FWI at the start26.7
Minimum humidity35 %
Days without rain8
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Cabeceiras de Basto fire, 2 September 2016
125 ha5 daysFWI 26.7Min. humidity 35 %
Ponte de Lima fire, July 2025
935 ha6 daysFWI 25.8Min. humidity 35 %53 km away, in 2025
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.
It stayed below its twins: 125 ha against a median of 238 ha. It lasted 5 days, against 2 days.
In 14 of 30, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 3.8 mm.
This is a bank of analogues: it shows what usually happens, not what will happen. With fewer than 15 twins we give no figures. How we calculate it
How it ended
26.8 mmfirst rain
13 Sept7 days after it ended
46km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 6 Sept, and on 13 Sept 26.8 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 16 of 30, with a median of 3.8 mm.
Weather on this page: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)
How a twin is chosen
Same area: fires that have already ended, less than 250 km from this one, since 2016.
Same start: we compare the FWI on the first day, the minimum humidity that day and the run of days without rain before it. The slider sets how much they may differ.
Only pages with final weather data (ERA5 reanalysis) calculated in the same way as this fire’s; agricultural and grass burns and pages with data under review are left out.
Fires burning at the same time as this one (a week before or after) are left out: they share the same spell of weather and do not count as a precedent.
They are sorted by similarity, and the outlines of the first five are drawn.
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
↔
Before · 26 Aug 2016
After · 13 Sept 2016
Sentinel-2 did not pass over on that day. Try another date, or use false colour, which is daily.
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 · Copernicus
On 6 September 2016 the air beside the fire reached 154 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 62: 4.2 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
PM2.5 peak154µg/m³
Days over the guideline5days
PM10223µg/m³
WHO 15
31 Aug2 Sept4 Sept6 Sept
GoodFairModeratePoorVery poorExtremely poor
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· 10Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.›
⬇ Download CSVTimes in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 2 September 2016 to 6 September 2016 (5 days). The perimeter dates it from 2 September 2016 to 3 September 2016.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 125 hectares (1.2 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which freguesias burned?
The fire entered 3 freguesias: Abadim (66 ha, 4.3 %); Cabeceiras de Basto (44 ha, 1.8 %); Salto (14 ha, 0.2 %).
Did the fire reach a town?
The fire started in Cabeceiras de Basto and came within 4.5 km of its centre. That is the distance from the perimeter, or the nearest hotspot, to the point marking the centre; it does not mean it entered the houses.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 30.7 °C, humidity dropped to 24 % and gusts hit 46 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 39, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Portugal (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
How did the fires that started in similar weather in this area end?
Fires less than 250 km away that started since 2016 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 30. Their median duration was 2 days and their median area 238 ha; 13 % went past 1,000 ha. In 14 of 30, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 3.8 mm.
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.
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 errorHow we know this›
Perimeter: EFFIS (Copernicus), mapped on satellite imagery.
Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 2 September 2016 to 3 September 2016. 10 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with ICNF: 80 official ha against 125 ha of perimeter; similar, but with reservations.
Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2015, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.
The perimeter and land cover come from the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), measured on MODIS and Sentinel-2 imagery and published under CC BY 4.0. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Freguesia boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication). The area per freguesia is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from each country’s official figure.