Skip to content
worldfires
en
AU · Australia · →

Clarence Valley fire, 17 October 2019 Clarence Valley, Glen Innes Severn, Armidale

Out · last detection 21 Dec 2019, 14:41 UTC

The fire started on 17 October 2019 in Clarence Valley, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 66 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 346,884 hectares from heat detections, spread across 5 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 3th largest in New South Wales since 2016 (of 130 with a page). Number 5 in Australia in 2019, of 802.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Clarence Valley · 2018Clarence Valley · 2016Clarence Valley · 2018Armidale · 2019

Burnt area
346,884ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
66days
17 Oct 2019 – 21 Dec 2019
Municipalities hit
5
local government areas
Started on
17 Oct
2019
Heat detections
31,914
in a single hotspot: 1,017 MW
Danger at start
24
High · FWI index
Average daily power
5.8GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 17 Oct21 Dec
21 Dec 2019

How it evolved, day by day

17 Oct 2019 · 31 MW · 14 18 Oct 2019 · 279 MW · 58 19 Oct 2019 · 559 MW · 84 20 Oct 2019 · 18 MW · 11 21 Oct 2019 · 95 MW · 31 22 Oct 2019 · 809 MW · 184 23 Oct 2019 · 1,852 MW · 274 24 Oct 2019 · 285 MW · 115 25 Oct 2019 · 2,948 MW · 259 26 Oct 2019 · 1,668 MW · 212 27 Oct 2019 · 336 MW · 45 28 Oct 2019 · 493 MW · 98 29 Oct 2019 · 2,819 MW · 106 30 Oct 2019 · 84 MW · 39 31 Oct 2019 · 58 MW · 6 1 Nov 2019 · 195 MW · 52 2 Nov 2019 · 69 MW · 32 3 Nov 2019 · 524 MW · 56 4 Nov 2019 · 1,613 MW · 150 5 Nov 2019 · 1,308 MW · 268 6 Nov 2019 · 2,094 MW · 361 7 Nov 2019 · 11,843 MW · 1056 8 Nov 2019 · 132,697 MW · 9196 9 Nov 2019 · 46,291 MW · 2783 10 Nov 2019 · 37,028 MW · 2445 11 Nov 2019 · 2,336 MW · 558 12 Nov 2019 · 18,251 MW · 1395 13 Nov 2019 · 7,562 MW · 1172 14 Nov 2019 · 3,373 MW · 554 15 Nov 2019 · 11,656 MW · 863 16 Nov 2019 · 5,137 MW · 604 17 Nov 2019 · 695 MW · 250 18 Nov 2019 · 5,131 MW · 684 19 Nov 2019 · 5,435 MW · 511 20 Nov 2019 · 1,178 MW · 147 21 Nov 2019 · 708 MW · 160 22 Nov 2019 · 1,187 MW · 147 23 Nov 2019 · 651 MW · 98 24 Nov 2019 · 146 MW · 57 25 Nov 2019 · 1,571 MW · 164 26 Nov 2019 · 1,106 MW · 127 27 Nov 2019 · 903 MW · 115 28 Nov 2019 · 2,468 MW · 138 29 Nov 2019 · 79 MW · 18 1 Dec 2019 · 99 MW · 27 2 Dec 2019 · 5,698 MW · 859 3 Dec 2019 · 6,122 MW · 867 4 Dec 2019 · 11,055 MW · 1219 5 Dec 2019 · 8,296 MW · 741 6 Dec 2019 · 6,851 MW · 781 7 Dec 2019 · 5,521 MW · 547 8 Dec 2019 · 1,907 MW · 115 9 Dec 2019 · 1,322 MW · 123 10 Dec 2019 · 6,864 MW · 258 11 Dec 2019 · 243 MW · 17 12 Dec 2019 · 13 MW · 3 13 Dec 2019 · 1 MW · 1 14 Dec 2019 · 252 MW · 53 15 Dec 2019 · 1,116 MW · 131 16 Dec 2019 · 1,588 MW · 166 17 Dec 2019 · 1,920 MW · 83 18 Dec 2019 · 640 MW · 104 19 Dec 2019 · 1,463 MW · 93 20 Dec 2019 · 137 MW · 19 21 Dec 2019 · 40 MW · 10
17 Oct 27 Oct 6 Nov 8 Nov 16 Nov 26 Nov 7 Dec 17 Dec

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

The weather it burned in

37°high
81km/h · peak gust
8%lowest humidity

It had gone 0 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 4.1 mm on 23 Dec.

This area had burned before

16% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 14,706 ha in 2016, 12,089 ha in 2017, 37,098 ha in 2018. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 57,019 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

20 km
It burned the equivalent of 2.2 times the area of London (3,469 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. Clarence Valley where it started
    257,877 ha reached on 17 Oct
    25 %
  2. Glen Innes Severn
    70,830 ha reached on 27 Oct
    13 %
  3. Armidale
    12,840 ha reached on 7 Nov
    1.6 %
  4. Coffs Harbour
    4,585 ha reached on 29 Oct
    3.9 %
  5. Bellingen
    2,540 ha reached on 12 Nov
    1.6 %

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.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2020
Built-up area61 ha
Residents≈ 1,100

Inside the perimeter there were about 61 hectares of built-up land and about 1,100 residents (GHSL 2020, 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.

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)
17 Oct 29.8 °C 20 % 70 km/h 0.2 mm High 24
18 Oct 25.7 °C 16 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
19 Oct 27.2 °C 9 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
20 Oct 21.7 °C 30 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
21 Oct 20.5 °C 35 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
22 Oct 23.8 °C 29 % 37 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 16
23 Oct 25.7 °C 24 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
24 Oct 27.2 °C 28 % 31 km/h 1.9 mm Low 7
25 Oct 28.5 °C 23 % 33 km/h 0.5 mm Moderate 16
26 Oct 29.0 °C 23 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
27 Oct 25.7 °C 25 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
28 Oct 21.2 °C 45 % 40 km/h 1.4 mm Low 8
29 Oct 24.0 °C 33 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
30 Oct 23.7 °C 41 % 27 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 12
31 Oct 25.3 °C 29 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
1 Nov 22.7 °C 45 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
2 Nov 21.4 °C 54 % 40 km/h 2.2 mm Very low 5
3 Nov 25.6 °C 43 % 43 km/h 0.4 mm Low 11
4 Nov 29.0 °C 20 % 44 km/h 3.8 mm Low 8
5 Nov 20.4 °C 19 % 64 km/h 0.4 mm High 23
6 Nov 27.8 °C 14 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
7 Nov 32.3 °C 8 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
8 Nov 30.7 °C 11 % 62 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
9 Nov 21.0 °C 15 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
10 Nov 24.9 °C 18 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
11 Nov 27.4 °C 21 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
12 Nov 31.6 °C 15 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
13 Nov 27.6 °C 15 % 48 km/h 0.1 mm High 38
14 Nov 27.7 °C 12 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
15 Nov 30.9 °C 14 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
16 Nov 31.5 °C 12 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
17 Nov 29.0 °C 19 % 56 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 47
18 Nov 26.0 °C 26 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
19 Nov 32.5 °C 11 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
20 Nov 31.6 °C 23 % 50 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 43
21 Nov 27.8 °C 43 % 48 km/h 0.9 mm High 22
22 Nov 31.5 °C 23 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
23 Nov 30.1 °C 30 % 33 km/h 1.2 mm Moderate 20
24 Nov 27.1 °C 36 % 43 km/h 1.8 mm Moderate 12
25 Nov 28.1 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
26 Nov 31.4 °C 23 % 55 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 40
27 Nov 27.5 °C 31 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
28 Nov 30.7 °C 26 % 48 km/h 0.2 mm High 36
29 Nov 27.7 °C 50 % 49 km/h 3.2 mm Low 6
30 Nov 28.5 °C 40 % 52 km/h 5.9 mm Very low 5
1 Dec 24.8 °C 47 % 56 km/h 1.3 mm Low 8
2 Dec 24.2 °C 24 % 81 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
3 Dec 28.3 °C 16 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
4 Dec 30.5 °C 10 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
5 Dec 31.7 °C 8 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
6 Dec 33.3 °C 11 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
7 Dec 33.3 °C 10 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
8 Dec 28.0 °C 32 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
9 Dec 28.3 °C 40 % 46 km/h 0.1 mm High 30
10 Dec 36.7 °C 19 % 36 km/h 0.6 mm High 35
11 Dec 30.4 °C 39 % 41 km/h 6.7 mm Low 5
12 Dec 27.2 °C 46 % 45 km/h 2.3 mm Low 5
13 Dec 21.0 °C 70 % 31 km/h 2.6 mm Very low 2
14 Dec 30.7 °C 27 % 36 km/h 0.4 mm Moderate 15
15 Dec 31.7 °C 29 % 39 km/h 0.7 mm High 22
16 Dec 34.0 °C 16 % 57 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
17 Dec 26.9 °C 34 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
18 Dec 27.1 °C 33 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
19 Dec 32.5 °C 22 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
20 Dec 32.4 °C 32 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
21 Dec 35.2 °C 25 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
22 Dec after 28.5 °C 49 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
23 Dec after 30.7 °C 39 % 32 km/h 4.1 mm Low 6

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 10 Oct 2019
After · 28 Dec 2019

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 · 31,914Every 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 Australia ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Clarence Valley fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 17 October 2019 to 21 December 2019 (66 days). The perimeter dates it from 17 October 2019 to 20 December 2019.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 346,884 hectares (3,468.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 5 municipalities: Clarence Valley (257,877 ha, 25 %); Glen Innes Severn (70,830 ha, 13 %); Armidale (12,840 ha, 1.6 %); Coffs Harbour (4,585 ha, 3.9 %); Bellingen (2,540 ha, 1.6 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 36.7 °C, humidity dropped to 8 % and gusts hit 81 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 47, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Australia (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: 000 · Emergency number and official warnings ›

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 1 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 20 December 2019 → 21 December 2019.

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 000.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 4 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 17 October 2019 to 20 December 2019. 31,914 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 2020, 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 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 International (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.