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Clear Hills fire, June 2023 Clear Hills

Out · last detection 8 Oct 2023, 20:38 UTC

The fire started on 30 June 2023 in Clear Hills, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 102 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 7,364 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across a single census subdivision.

It is the 75th largest in Alberta since 2016 (of 243 with a page). Number 207 in Canada in 2023, of 489.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Clear Hills · 2023Clear Hills · 2016

Burnt area
7,364ha
official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration
102days
30 Jun 2023 – 9 Oct 2023
Census subdivisions hit
1
municipalities
Started on
30 Jun
2023
Heat detections
677
in a single hotspot: 207 MW
Danger at start
23
High · FWI index
Average daily power
227MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 30 Jun9 Oct
8 Oct 2023

How it evolved, day by day

1 Jul 2023 · 1,114 MW · 43 2 Jul 2023 · 53 MW · 9 4 Jul 2023 · 15 MW · 4 5 Jul 2023 · 90 MW · 8 6 Jul 2023 · 112 MW · 48 7 Jul 2023 · 652 MW · 40 8 Jul 2023 · 1,679 MW · 143 9 Jul 2023 · 1,168 MW · 183 10 Jul 2023 · 21 MW · 5 12 Jul 2023 · 2 MW · 2 20 Jul 2023 · 92 MW · 9 21 Jul 2023 · 125 MW · 50 22 Jul 2023 · 5 MW · 1 23 Jul 2023 · 2 MW · 2 28 Aug 2023 · 10 MW · 2 1 Sept 2023 · 4 MW · 1 2 Sept 2023 · 91 MW · 24 9 Sept 2023 · 9 MW · 1 10 Sept 2023 · 5 MW · 1 11 Sept 2023 · 3 MW · 4 12 Sept 2023 · 72 MW · 20 13 Sept 2023 · 12 MW · 10 17 Sept 2023 · 4 MW · 1 19 Sept 2023 · 1 MW · 1 22 Sept 2023 · 712 MW · 24 23 Sept 2023 · 80 MW · 40 8 Oct 2023 · 5 MW · 1
1 Jul 6 Jul 8 Jul 10 Jul 22 Jul 2 Sept 12 Sept 22 Sept

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
56km/h · peak gust
11%lowest humidity

It had gone one day without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 5.5 mm on 11 Oct.

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 4.7% of the area of London (74 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. Clear Hills where it started
    7,394 ha reached on 1 Jul
    0.5 %

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)
30 Jun 22.6 °C 22 % 56 km/h 0.2 mm High 23
1 Jul 19.2 °C 37 % 34 km/h 1.2 mm Low 8
2 Jul 16.6 °C 47 % 51 km/h 0.9 mm Low 10
3 Jul 17.5 °C 55 % 39 km/h 2.9 mm Very low 3
4 Jul 24.2 °C 29 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
5 Jul 25.5 °C 33 % 28 km/h 0.7 mm Moderate 13
6 Jul 22.4 °C 45 % 20 km/h 3.1 mm Very low 3
7 Jul 26.1 °C 26 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
8 Jul 29.4 °C 30 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
9 Jul 30.3 °C 30 % 20 km/h 1.6 mm Moderate 13
10 Jul 21.3 °C 59 % 30 km/h 6.6 mm Very low 1
11 Jul 24.5 °C 43 % 24 km/h 9.0 mm Very low 0
12 Jul 23.9 °C 56 % 25 km/h 2.1 mm Very low 1
13 Jul 23.1 °C 45 % 24 km/h 1.3 mm Very low 2
14 Jul 23.2 °C 47 % 23 km/h 0.7 mm Very low 4
15 Jul 23.3 °C 42 % 25 km/h 3.3 mm Very low 1
16 Jul 24.3 °C 42 % 27 km/h 2.5 mm Very low 2
17 Jul 20.0 °C 55 % 22 km/h 8.6 mm Very low 0
18 Jul 19.2 °C 53 % 25 km/h 1.3 mm Very low 1
19 Jul 22.5 °C 55 % 26 km/h 1.0 mm Very low 1
20 Jul 26.4 °C 32 % 15 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
21 Jul 27.6 °C 34 % 21 km/h 1.0 mm Low 8
22 Jul 24.3 °C 46 % 31 km/h 2.6 mm Very low 2
23 Jul 23.1 °C 26 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
24 Jul 19.8 °C 38 % 28 km/h 16.2 mm Very low 0
25 Jul 17.7 °C 66 % 35 km/h 10.1 mm Very low 0
26 Jul 17.3 °C 80 % 31 km/h 14.4 mm Very low 0
27 Jul 19.7 °C 38 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 0
28 Jul 21.5 °C 36 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
29 Jul 23.8 °C 28 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
30 Jul 25.6 °C 28 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
31 Jul 16.7 °C 68 % 24 km/h 10.7 mm Very low 0
1 Aug 17.6 °C 73 % 23 km/h 10.7 mm Very low 0
2 Aug 20.1 °C 55 % 18 km/h 3.3 mm Very low 0
3 Aug 18.9 °C 60 % 25 km/h 8.6 mm Very low 0
4 Aug 21.8 °C 41 % 30 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 0
5 Aug 25.4 °C 34 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 3
6 Aug 26.7 °C 34 % 22 km/h 0.5 mm Low 7
7 Aug 24.6 °C 51 % 27 km/h 5.6 mm Very low 1
8 Aug 16.1 °C 91 % 27 km/h 9.7 mm Very low 0
9 Aug 20.5 °C 65 % 22 km/h 3.7 mm Very low 0
10 Aug 16.1 °C 75 % 41 km/h 11.4 mm Very low 0
11 Aug 20.0 °C 46 % 30 km/h 0.3 mm Very low 0
12 Aug 22.5 °C 32 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
13 Aug 26.8 °C 34 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
14 Aug 21.9 °C 31 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
15 Aug 21.3 °C 50 % 49 km/h 4.7 mm Very low 1
16 Aug 24.3 °C 33 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Low 5
17 Aug 20.1 °C 43 % 29 km/h 2.8 mm Very low 1
18 Aug 11.6 °C 53 % 41 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 2
19 Aug 20.3 °C 39 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 4
20 Aug 23.3 °C 30 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
21 Aug 22.5 °C 30 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
22 Aug 21.1 °C 49 % 20 km/h 0.9 mm Very low 5
23 Aug 18.1 °C 62 % 35 km/h 0.5 mm Low 7
24 Aug 21.2 °C 44 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Low 9
25 Aug 25.1 °C 32 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
26 Aug 26.4 °C 35 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
27 Aug 26.9 °C 36 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
28 Aug 29.1 °C 31 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
29 Aug 26.9 °C 31 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
30 Aug 23.9 °C 49 % 20 km/h 7.0 mm Very low 1
31 Aug 21.2 °C 39 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 5
1 Sept 26.1 °C 25 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
2 Sept 20.1 °C 26 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
3 Sept 12.4 °C 52 % 40 km/h 1.0 mm Low 7
4 Sept 16.0 °C 31 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
5 Sept 12.0 °C 64 % 31 km/h 5.4 mm Very low 0
6 Sept 15.0 °C 44 % 32 km/h 0.1 mm Very low 2
7 Sept 17.7 °C 35 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
8 Sept 18.7 °C 31 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
9 Sept 20.9 °C 28 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
10 Sept 24.2 °C 26 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
11 Sept 20.5 °C 32 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
12 Sept 19.8 °C 40 % 39 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 16
13 Sept 14.6 °C 45 % 52 km/h 0.9 mm Low 11
14 Sept 18.5 °C 28 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
15 Sept 24.6 °C 11 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
16 Sept 18.5 °C 26 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
17 Sept 18.7 °C 33 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
18 Sept 14.5 °C 37 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
19 Sept 13.4 °C 40 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
20 Sept 15.3 °C 35 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
21 Sept 19.4 °C 39 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
22 Sept 23.8 °C 28 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
23 Sept 18.5 °C 33 % 26 km/h 1.0 mm Moderate 12
24 Sept 10.8 °C 63 % 44 km/h 5.0 mm Very low 1
25 Sept 10.9 °C 66 % 41 km/h 4.8 mm Very low 0
26 Sept 14.9 °C 49 % 40 km/h 0.7 mm Very low 2
27 Sept 13.6 °C 54 % 36 km/h 0.8 mm Very low 3
28 Sept 8.1 °C 91 % 22 km/h 6.6 mm Very low 0
29 Sept 7.5 °C 80 % 15 km/h 1.6 mm Very low 0
30 Sept 10.4 °C 61 % 30 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 0
1 Oct 12.6 °C 49 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
2 Oct 12.9 °C 50 % 30 km/h 0.5 mm Very low 2
3 Oct 12.7 °C 45 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
4 Oct 8.1 °C 30 % 53 km/h 0.7 mm Low 8
5 Oct 5.7 °C 36 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
6 Oct 16.3 °C 44 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
7 Oct 21.5 °C 29 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
8 Oct 21.5 °C 26 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
9 Oct 19.4 °C 33 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
10 Oct after 15.0 °C 50 % 18 km/h 0.9 mm Low 6
11 Oct after 12.4 °C 64 % 16 km/h 5.5 mm Very low 0

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 23 Jun 2023
After · 16 Oct 2023

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 25 September 2023 the air beside the fire reached 361 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 195: 13 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak361 µg/m³
Days over the guideline61 days
PM10516 µg/m³
Optical depth7.17
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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 · 677Every 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 Clear Hills fire last?
It burned between 30 June 2023 and 9 October 2023: 102 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 7,364 hectares (73.6 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?
The fire only entered Clear Hills (7,394 ha, 0.5 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 30.3 °C, humidity dropped to 11 % and gusts hit 56 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 34, 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.

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.

No changes since 24 October 2026.

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 911.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: NBAC (Natural Resources Canada), official.
  • Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 677 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.