Croydon fire, 10 October 2025 Croydon, Etheridge
The fire started on 10 October 2025 in Croydon, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 49 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 164,473 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.
Other fire pages in the same area and on the same dates:
It is the 12th largest in Queensland since 2016 (of 1742 with a page). Number 10 in Australia in 2025, of 1124.
Compare with…
- Burnt area
- 164,473ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 49days
- 10 Oct 2025 – 27 Nov 2025
- Municipalities hit
- 2
- local government areas
- Started on
- 10 Oct
- 2025
- Heat detections
- 5,029
- in a single hotspot: 220 MW
- Danger at start
- 30
- High · FWI index
- Average daily power
- 1.0GW
- detected power per day, on average
Where it burned
How it evolved, day by day
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
It had gone 26 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.7 mm on 29 Nov.
This area had burned before
56% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 44,480 ha in 2016, 7,057 ha in 2017, 1,384 ha in 2018, 864 ha in 2019, 13,551 ha in 2020, 303 ha in 2021, 10,052 ha in 2022, 11,411 ha in 2023, 32,229 ha in 2024. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 91,899 ha that had burned before.
- 23,185 ha Croydon fire, November 2016 58,423 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 19,361 ha Croydon fire, October 2024 124,080 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 13,551 ha Etheridge fire, November 2020 16,653 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 4,061 ha Croydon fire, November 2016 7,236 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,528 ha Etheridge fire, November 2023 17,902 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 18 ha Croydon fire, December 2017 5,076 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
How big is it?
London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Paris boundary: geoBoundaries · Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN-F) (Etalab Open License 2.0).
Madrid boundary: geoBoundaries · Open Data ESRI, IGN Central Registry of Cartography Area (CC BY 4.0).
Berlin boundary: geoBoundaries · Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (dl-de/by-2-0).
This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.
What happened to each town
-
Croydon where it started121,469 ha reached on 10 Oct4.1 %
-
44,345 ha reached on 11 Oct1.1 %
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 2025Inside 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct | 37.0 °C | 35 % | 33 km/h | 1.6 mm | High 30 |
| 11 Oct | 37.6 °C | 23 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 44 |
| 12 Oct | 35.4 °C | 28 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 44 |
| 13 Oct | 39.0 °C | 17 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 43 |
| 14 Oct | 37.6 °C | 29 % | 35 km/h | 8.1 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 15 Oct | 34.6 °C | 29 % | 38 km/h | 2.9 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 16 Oct | 35.9 °C | 27 % | 42 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 35 |
| 17 Oct | 36.2 °C | 20 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 40 |
| 18 Oct | 38.5 °C | 15 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 44 |
| 19 Oct | 40.2 °C | 13 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 52 |
| 20 Oct | 38.5 °C | 18 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 50 |
| 21 Oct | 37.4 °C | 21 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 45 |
| 22 Oct | 37.9 °C | 22 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 48 |
| 23 Oct | 38.1 °C | 26 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 44 |
| 24 Oct | 39.0 °C | 22 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 46 |
| 25 Oct | 39.2 °C | 22 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 45 |
| 26 Oct | 38.3 °C | 28 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 46 |
| 27 Oct | 37.4 °C | 37 % | 34 km/h | 0.8 mm | High 35 |
| 28 Oct | 33.4 °C | 38 % | 33 km/h | 0.2 mm | High 32 |
| 29 Oct | 36.8 °C | 30 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 34 |
| 30 Oct | 38.5 °C | 17 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 41 |
| 31 Oct | 38.9 °C | 20 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 48 |
| 1 Nov | 38.0 °C | 25 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 49 |
| 2 Nov | 38.2 °C | 23 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 48 |
| 3 Nov | 33.5 °C | 43 % | 41 km/h | 1.7 mm | High 24 |
| 4 Nov | 35.8 °C | 29 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 38 |
| 5 Nov | 36.6 °C | 17 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 48 |
| 6 Nov | 37.8 °C | 18 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 50 |
| 7 Nov | 37.4 °C | 23 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 49 |
| 8 Nov | 35.6 °C | 36 % | 39 km/h | 0.9 mm | High 34 |
| 9 Nov | 34.1 °C | 34 % | 39 km/h | 0.2 mm | High 38 |
| 10 Nov | 37.8 °C | 14 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 56 |
| 11 Nov | 38.6 °C | 8 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 63 |
| 12 Nov | 39.0 °C | 11 % | 34 km/h | 0.2 mm | Extreme 60 |
| 13 Nov | 34.6 °C | 36 % | 40 km/h | 2.0 mm | High 28 |
| 14 Nov | 33.3 °C | 35 % | 40 km/h | 1.0 mm | High 28 |
| 15 Nov | 35.3 °C | 36 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 33 |
| 16 Nov | 31.5 °C | 55 % | 26 km/h | 4.9 mm | Low 7 |
| 17 Nov | 32.1 °C | 36 % | 34 km/h | 10.3 mm | Low 6 |
| 18 Nov | 36.0 °C | 15 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 19 Nov | 37.5 °C | 18 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 34 |
| 20 Nov | 38.4 °C | 16 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 41 |
| 21 Nov | 39.2 °C | 18 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 42 |
| 22 Nov | 40.0 °C | 20 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 42 |
| 23 Nov | 38.8 °C | 24 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 45 |
| 24 Nov | 39.7 °C | 30 % | 30 km/h | 0.7 mm | High 32 |
| 25 Nov | 37.7 °C | 33 % | 36 km/h | 1.4 mm | High 32 |
| 26 Nov | 39.2 °C | 28 % | 30 km/h | 2.8 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 27 Nov | 37.1 °C | 37 % | 47 km/h | 3.3 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 28 Nov after | 38.6 °C | 31 % | 30 km/h | 0.1 mm | High 27 |
| 29 Nov after | 39.2 °C | 29 % | 34 km/h | 1.7 mm | High 24 |
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
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 · CopernicusOn 12 November 2025 the air beside the fire reached 71 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 39: 2.6 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
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 · 5,029Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
- 17,902 haEtheridge5 November 2023 · 5 days · 10 km away
- 16,653 haEtheridge28 November 2020 · 13 days · 18 km away
- 23,977 haCroydonOctober 2018 · 10 days · 29 km away
- 10,437 haEtheridge8 October 2026 · 10 days · 31 km away
- 29,994 haCroydonNovember 2023 · 6 days · 32 km away
- 14,049 haEtheridge19 November 2025 · 7 days · 37 km away
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Croydon fire last?
- According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 10 October 2025 to 27 November 2025 (49 days). The perimeter dates it from 10 October 2025 to 25 November 2025.
- How much area did it burn?
- The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 164,473 hectares (1,644.7 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 2 municipalities: Croydon (121,469 ha, 4.1 %); Etheridge (44,345 ha, 1.1 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 40.2 °C, humidity dropped to 8 % and gusts hit 47 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 63, 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 · 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.
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
How we know this
- Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 6 polygons grouped in this page.
- Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 10 October 2025 to 25 November 2025. 5,029 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.
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.