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Central Kootenay D fire, July 2024 Central Kootenay D

Out · last detection 9 Sept 2024, 10:30 UTC

The fire started on 18 July 2024 in Central Kootenay D, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 54 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 16,268 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across a single census subdivision.

It is the 62th largest in British Columbia since 2016 (of 343 with a page). Number 62 in Canada in 2024, of 291.

Burnt area
16,268ha
official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration
54days
18 Jul 2024 – 9 Sept 2024
Census subdivisions hit
1
municipalities
Started on
18 Jul
2024
Heat detections
774
in a single hotspot: 192 MW
Danger at start
2
Very low · FWI index
Average daily power
404MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 18 Jul9 Sept
9 Sept 2024

How it evolved, day by day

18 Jul 2024 · 43 MW · 4 19 Jul 2024 · 942 MW · 32 20 Jul 2024 · 591 MW · 73 21 Jul 2024 · 1,370 MW · 61 22 Jul 2024 · 195 MW · 34 23 Jul 2024 · 467 MW · 68 24 Jul 2024 · 870 MW · 95 25 Jul 2024 · 2,630 MW · 168 27 Jul 2024 · 178 MW · 47 28 Jul 2024 · 4 MW · 3 29 Jul 2024 · 6 MW · 5 1 Aug 2024 · 60 MW · 11 2 Aug 2024 · 254 MW · 63 3 Aug 2024 · 340 MW · 61 4 Aug 2024 · 68 MW · 38 5 Aug 2024 · 1 MW · 1 13 Aug 2024 · 1 MW · 1 14 Aug 2024 · 2 MW · 2 15 Aug 2024 · 56 MW · 6 9 Sept 2024 · 1 MW · 1
18 Jul 22 Jul 25 Jul 2 Aug 13 Aug

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

The weather it burned in

30°high
80km/h · peak gust
16%lowest humidity

It had gone 14 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 2.0 mm on 10 Sept.

This area had burned before

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

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 10% of the area of London (163 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 census subdivision

  1. Central Kootenay D where it started
    16,207 ha reached on 18 Jul
    2.7 %

Burnt area inside each census subdivision, 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.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2025
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2025, 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. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

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)
18 Jul 24.5 °C 32 % 25 km/h 3.8 mm Very low 2
19 Jul 26.4 °C 18 % 42 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 13
20 Jul 27.8 °C 16 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
21 Jul 30.0 °C 18 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 21
22 Jul 27.5 °C 21 % 50 km/h 0.5 mm High 24
23 Jul 23.0 °C 18 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
24 Jul 24.0 °C 18 % 57 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
25 Jul 14.5 °C 40 % 67 km/h 3.0 mm Very low 3
26 Jul 12.3 °C 42 % 52 km/h 0.4 mm Low 5
27 Jul 15.8 °C 33 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
28 Jul 16.8 °C 35 % 44 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 12
29 Jul 15.8 °C 40 % 53 km/h 0.6 mm Moderate 12
30 Jul 16.3 °C 49 % 45 km/h 1.5 mm Very low 5
31 Jul 19.6 °C 37 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
1 Aug 25.1 °C 24 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
2 Aug 26.4 °C 19 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
3 Aug 24.4 °C 23 % 55 km/h 0.4 mm High 25
4 Aug 20.4 °C 40 % 36 km/h 1.4 mm Low 8
5 Aug 20.4 °C 36 % 48 km/h 1.6 mm Low 6
6 Aug 18.1 °C 40 % 38 km/h 0.4 mm Low 11
7 Aug 16.9 °C 38 % 24 km/h 3.8 mm Very low 2
8 Aug 18.5 °C 39 % 25 km/h 1.9 mm Very low 3
9 Aug 19.6 °C 31 % 21 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 5
10 Aug 18.5 °C 34 % 31 km/h 0.6 mm Low 9
11 Aug 18.9 °C 33 % 29 km/h 1.0 mm Low 8
12 Aug 16.8 °C 37 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
13 Aug 17.6 °C 47 % 42 km/h 1.0 mm Low 7
14 Aug 18.7 °C 41 % 28 km/h 1.0 mm Low 6
15 Aug 18.4 °C 39 % 31 km/h 1.2 mm Low 6
16 Aug 11.9 °C 79 % 28 km/h 13.3 mm Very low 0
17 Aug 17.2 °C 46 % 28 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 0
18 Aug 20.8 °C 34 % 52 km/h 0.3 mm Very low 4
19 Aug 20.6 °C 30 % 46 km/h 0.5 mm Low 10
20 Aug 14.9 °C 45 % 50 km/h 2.1 mm Very low 3
21 Aug 11.4 °C 59 % 38 km/h 1.6 mm Very low 2
22 Aug 18.0 °C 36 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
23 Aug 22.6 °C 24 % 47 km/h 10.6 mm Very low 1
24 Aug 6.8 °C 72 % 50 km/h 7.6 mm Very low 0
25 Aug 13.0 °C 52 % 29 km/h 0.4 mm Very low 0
26 Aug 15.3 °C 44 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
27 Aug 9.6 °C 69 % 80 km/h 11.3 mm Very low 0
28 Aug 5.6 °C 77 % 63 km/h 8.9 mm Very low 0
29 Aug 14.4 °C 52 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
30 Aug 17.7 °C 44 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
31 Aug 22.1 °C 29 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
1 Sept 22.2 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
2 Sept 20.9 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.9 mm Low 6
3 Sept 18.4 °C 35 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
4 Sept 19.7 °C 32 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
5 Sept 22.0 °C 22 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
6 Sept 22.8 °C 21 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
7 Sept 22.2 °C 19 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
8 Sept 20.7 °C 24 % 36 km/h 0.4 mm Moderate 16
9 Sept 16.9 °C 42 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
10 Sept after 13.8 °C 49 % 41 km/h 2.0 mm Very low 2

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 2.0, a minimum humidity of 32% and 14 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2017: 18.

FWI at the start 2.0
Minimum humidity 32 %
Days without rain 14
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

East Kootenay E fire, July 2021
2,706 ha 25 days FWI 2.8 Min. humidity 33 % 104 km away, in 2021

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 18.1 mm on 2 Aug.

What happened to them

56 days
median duration
2,459 ha
median area
100 %
went past 1,000 ha
7.5 mm
rain at the end (median; 18 of 18 had it)

It was 6.6 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 54 days, against 56 days.

Only 4 of its 18 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. All of them had rain in the ten days after the end: the first rainy day brought a median of 7.5 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

2.0 mmfirst rain
10 Septthe day after it ended
80km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 9 Sept, and on 10 Sept 2.0 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 18 of 18, with a median of 7.5 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 2017.
  • 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.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 11 Jul 2024
After · 16 Sept 2024

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 5 August 2024 the air beside the fire reached 88 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 47: 3.1 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak88 µg/m³
Days over the guideline16 days
PM10127 µg/m³
Optical depth2.62
16 Jul28 Jul9 Aug21 Aug2 Sept
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely 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 · 774Every 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 Canada

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Central Kootenay D fire last?
It burned between 18 July 2024 and 9 September 2024: 54 days, according to the dates recorded by Canada’s CWFIS and the heat detections seen by satellite.
How much area did it burn?
The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 16,268 hectares (162.7 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?
The fire only entered Central Kootenay D (16,207 ha, 2.7 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 30.0 °C, humidity dropped to 16 % and gusts hit 80 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 27, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the official burnt perimeter of Canada’s CWFIS (NBAC, Natural Resources Canada) or, for the current season and until NBAC publishes it, the one rebuilt by GWIS (Copernicus); from NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots; and from the administrative boundaries of Canada. 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 2017 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 18. Their median duration was 56 days and their median area 2,459 ha; 100 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 4 of its 18 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. All of them had rain in the ten days after the end: the first rainy day brought a median of 7.5 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.

Emergency number: 911 · Emergency number and official warnings

Satellite cross-check

History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

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 911.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: NBAC (Natural Resources Canada), official.
  • Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 774 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.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology

Where this data comes from

The perimeter is official: it comes from the National Burned Area Composite (NBAC) of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), Natural Resources Canada, which maps it on satellite imagery and publishes it under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Until NBAC publishes the current season, this year’s fires carry the perimeter rebuilt from heat detections by GWIS (Copernicus, CC BY 4.0), which is approximate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Census subdivision boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (Open Data Commons Open Database License 1.0). The area per census subdivision is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from official figures.