Coyuca de Catalán fire, 12 March 2019
Coyuca de Catalán
Out · last detection 15 Mar 2019, 08:51 UTC
The fire started on 12 March 2019 in Coyuca de Catalán, Mexico, and satellites saw it burning for 5 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 1,509 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.
It is the 578th largest in Guerrero since 2016 (of 582 with a page). Number 359 in Mexico in 2019, of 363.
The power measured by the satellite is low (18.4 MW in the strongest hotspot), more typical of grass or stubble burning, or a slow surface fire, than of a large crown fire.
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
1,509ha
Perimeter published by GWIS (Copernicus).
This page1,509CONAFOR1,030
Source
GWIS (Copernicus)
Date
12 Mar 2019 – 16 Mar 2019
+− cross-check
CONAFOR: 1,030 ha (matched records: 1). Difference between the page and the official record: +46.5%. Matched on 15 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
12 Mar 2019 to 16 Mar 2019: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 15 Mar 2019, 08:51 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
12 Mar 2019
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
12 Mar 2019
+− 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
44
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 18 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
12 Mar 2019 – 16 Mar 2019
+− 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
193MW
Total radiative power on 13 March 2019; hotspots that day: 21.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
13 Mar 2019
+− 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
33.9FWI · high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 14.
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
32.8°C · 26% RH
High of 32.8 °C and minimum humidity of 26% on 12 March 2019; gusts of 40 km/h on 12 March 2019.
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
· reconstructedofficial
Matched with the official CONAFOR record
Nearby records with very different figures: 1,030 ha (records: 1).
· reconstructedweather
Weather and FWI computed from the ERA5 reanalysis
log
Last day with fire: 15 March 2019 → 16 March 2019.
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 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 area< 0.1ha
Residents< 20
Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (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.
According to CONAFOR, this fire started on 13 March 2019 and burned 1,030 ha (the satellite measured 1,509 ha). The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
Coyuca de CatalánEjido El Pinzan Dulce13 March 20191,030 ha· extinguished on 16 March 2019· cause: unknown
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)
12 Mar
32.8 °C
26 %
40 km/h
0.0 mm
High 34
13 Mar
31.5 °C
29 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
High 32
14 Mar
31.7 °C
30 %
33 km/h
0.0 mm
High 32
15 Mar
31.3 °C
29 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
High 33
16 Mar
30.5 °C
36 %
33 km/h
0.0 mm
High 32
17 Mar after
29.7 °C
38 %
28 km/h
0.1 mm
High 29
18 Mar after
31.1 °C
32 %
31 km/h
0.4 mm
High 28
19 Mar after
31.8 °C
29 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
High 28
20 Mar after
30.0 °C
31 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
High 29
21 Mar after
30.6 °C
28 %
27 km/h
0.1 mm
High 31
22 Mar after
30.8 °C
31 %
31 km/h
0.1 mm
High 29
23 Mar after
30.0 °C
28 %
32 km/h
0.0 mm
High 31
24 Mar after
31.8 °C
21 %
31 km/h
0.0 mm
High 33
25 Mar after
33.6 °C
16 %
32 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 39
26 Mar after
33.2 °C
9 %
34 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 50
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 33.9, a minimum humidity of 26% and 14 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 20.
FWI at the start33.9
Minimum humidity26 %
Days without rain14
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Coyuca de Catalán fire, 12 March 2019
1,509 ha5 daysFWI 33.9Min. humidity 26 %
San Miguel Totolapan fire, March 2020
3,389 ha20 daysFWI 35.6Min. humidity 25 %51 km away, in 2020
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.
It stayed below its twins: 1,509 ha against a median of 2,666 ha. It lasted 5 days, against 12 days.
In 2 of 20, 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 2.4 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
—first rain
—no rain in ten days
40km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 16 Mar, and not even 1 mm fell in the following ten days: it went out without rain. Twins with rain when they ended: 18 of 20, with a median of 2.4 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.
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 12 March 2019 to 16 March 2019 (5 days). The perimeter dates it from 12 March 2019 to 15 March 2019.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 1,509 hectares (15.1 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Coyuca de Catalán (1,516 ha, 0.4 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 32.8 °C, humidity dropped to 26 % and gusts hit 40 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 34, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Mexico (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: 20. Their median duration was 12 days and their median area 2,666 ha; 100 % went past 1,000 ha. In 2 of 20, 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 2.4 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: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery.
Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 12 March 2019 to 15 March 2019. 44 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with CONAFOR: 1,030 official ha against 1,509 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 2020, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.
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 (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.