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Cook fire, 20 September 2018 Cook, Mapoon

Out · last detection 6 Nov 2018, 16:05 UTC

The fire started on 20 September 2018 in Cook, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 48 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 47,313 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 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.

It is the 112th largest in Queensland since 2016 (of 1737 with a page). Number 38 in Australia in 2018, of 923.

Burnt area
47,313ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
48days
20 Sept 2018 – 6 Nov 2018
Municipalities hit
2
local government areas
Started on
20 Sept
2018
Heat detections
1,913
in a single hotspot: 199 MW
Danger at start
39
Very high · FWI index
Energy released
13.9GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

6 Nov 2018
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 20 Sept6 Nov

How it evolved, day by day

2021222324252627282930123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627293031123456

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

The weather it burned in

38°high
67km/h · peak gust
21%lowest humidity

It had gone 0 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.0 mm on 17 Nov.

This area had burned before

34% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 7,955 ha in 2016, 8,998 ha in 2017.

What happened to each town

  1. Cook where it started
    43,040 ha reached on 20 Sept
    0.4 %
  2. Mapoon
    4,302 ha reached on 20 Sept
    8.0 %

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)
13 Sept 33.4 °C 32 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
14 Sept 31.9 °C 42 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
15 Sept 31.9 °C 42 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
16 Sept 34.9 °C 30 % 35 km/h 0.5 mm High 34
17 Sept 35.0 °C 21 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
18 Sept 33.5 °C 28 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
19 Sept 33.8 °C 24 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
20 Sept 34.9 °C 21 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
21 Sept 34.0 °C 32 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
22 Sept 33.4 °C 29 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
23 Sept 32.4 °C 31 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
24 Sept 33.1 °C 28 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
25 Sept 34.0 °C 25 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
26 Sept 33.4 °C 29 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
27 Sept 34.3 °C 25 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
28 Sept 33.5 °C 24 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
29 Sept 33.0 °C 27 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
30 Sept 32.7 °C 32 % 55 km/h 0.2 mm Extreme 51
1 Oct 33.2 °C 31 % 67 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
2 Oct 33.6 °C 37 % 66 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
3 Oct 35.3 °C 30 % 58 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
4 Oct 36.0 °C 24 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
5 Oct 35.0 °C 30 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
6 Oct 36.0 °C 26 % 44 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 45
7 Oct 36.2 °C 25 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
8 Oct 34.7 °C 25 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
9 Oct 34.0 °C 31 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
10 Oct 35.1 °C 26 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
11 Oct 36.3 °C 28 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
12 Oct 36.9 °C 27 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
13 Oct 37.6 °C 27 % 34 km/h 0.5 mm Very high 41
14 Oct 35.2 °C 37 % 37 km/h 0.5 mm Very high 39
15 Oct 35.4 °C 37 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
16 Oct 35.4 °C 32 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
17 Oct 36.6 °C 28 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
18 Oct 36.8 °C 24 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
19 Oct 36.9 °C 25 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
20 Oct 36.9 °C 26 % 45 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 47
21 Oct 37.1 °C 24 % 44 km/h 0.6 mm Very high 47
22 Oct 37.1 °C 26 % 36 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 42
23 Oct 36.2 °C 28 % 35 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 41
24 Oct 35.5 °C 24 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
25 Oct 35.4 °C 23 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
26 Oct 34.2 °C 26 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
27 Oct 35.2 °C 35 % 42 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 44
28 Oct 36.3 °C 35 % 38 km/h 1.9 mm High 28
29 Oct 35.1 °C 45 % 36 km/h 0.8 mm High 24
30 Oct 34.2 °C 48 % 53 km/h 0.6 mm High 29
31 Oct 35.6 °C 36 % 57 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
1 Nov 35.9 °C 36 % 57 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
2 Nov 36.0 °C 34 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
3 Nov 35.8 °C 33 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
4 Nov 35.7 °C 37 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
5 Nov 36.6 °C 33 % 44 km/h 0.3 mm Very high 40
6 Nov 37.1 °C 27 % 42 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 41
7 Nov after 36.8 °C 27 % 33 km/h 0.8 mm High 36
8 Nov after 36.9 °C 27 % 36 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 39
9 Nov after 36.8 °C 32 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
10 Nov after 37.3 °C 27 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
11 Nov after 37.3 °C 28 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
12 Nov after 35.6 °C 33 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
13 Nov after 36.3 °C 29 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
14 Nov after 37.8 °C 24 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
15 Nov after 37.0 °C 27 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
16 Nov after 36.7 °C 25 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
17 Nov after 37.7 °C 23 % 44 km/h 1.0 mm Very high 42

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 13 Sept 2018
After · 13 Nov 2018

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 · 1,913Every 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 Cook fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 20 September 2018 and 6 November 2018: 48 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 47,313 hectares (473.1 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Cook (43,040 ha, 0.4 %); Mapoon (4,302 ha, 8.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 37.6 °C, humidity dropped to 21 % and gusts hit 67 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 55, class Extreme.
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

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.

Report an error
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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.

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.