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Cumaru do Norte fire, 19 August 2017 Cumaru do Norte, Santa Maria das Barreiras

Out · last detection 2 Oct 2017, 16:51 UTC

The fire started on 19 August 2017 in Cumaru do Norte, Brazil, and satellites saw it burning for 45 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 110,635 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 8th largest in Pará since 2016 (of 957 with a page). Number 3 in Brazil in 2017, of 994.

Burnt area
110,635ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
45days
19 Aug 2017 – 2 Oct 2017
Municipalities hit
2
municipalities
Started on
19 Aug
2017
Heat detections
4,957
in a single hotspot: 337 MW
Danger at start
46
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
1.2GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 19 Aug2 Oct
2 Oct 2017

How it evolved, day by day

19 Aug 2017 · 148 MW · 5 20 Aug 2017 · 35 MW · 5 21 Aug 2017 · 11 MW · 2 24 Aug 2017 · 441 MW · 56 25 Aug 2017 · 282 MW · 40 26 Aug 2017 · 833 MW · 76 27 Aug 2017 · 1,591 MW · 96 28 Aug 2017 · 5,250 MW · 200 29 Aug 2017 · 188 MW · 68 30 Aug 2017 · 1,360 MW · 105 31 Aug 2017 · 3,584 MW · 217 1 Sept 2017 · 913 MW · 149 2 Sept 2017 · 877 MW · 89 3 Sept 2017 · 1,048 MW · 171 4 Sept 2017 · 559 MW · 174 5 Sept 2017 · 793 MW · 86 6 Sept 2017 · 328 MW · 30 7 Sept 2017 · 1,181 MW · 60 8 Sept 2017 · 1,005 MW · 96 9 Sept 2017 · 538 MW · 148 10 Sept 2017 · 1,254 MW · 177 11 Sept 2017 · 5,754 MW · 235 12 Sept 2017 · 2,829 MW · 253 13 Sept 2017 · 1,554 MW · 212 14 Sept 2017 · 1,232 MW · 238 15 Sept 2017 · 5,184 MW · 376 16 Sept 2017 · 2,754 MW · 335 17 Sept 2017 · 1,128 MW · 135 18 Sept 2017 · 2,048 MW · 173 19 Sept 2017 · 1,957 MW · 297 20 Sept 2017 · 870 MW · 202 21 Sept 2017 · 149 MW · 19 22 Sept 2017 · 1,158 MW · 121 23 Sept 2017 · 381 MW · 64 24 Sept 2017 · 132 MW · 34 25 Sept 2017 · 253 MW · 118 26 Sept 2017 · 97 MW · 24 27 Sept 2017 · 18 MW · 12 28 Sept 2017 · 24 MW · 4 29 Sept 2017 · 2 MW · 1 30 Sept 2017 · 58 MW · 14 1 Oct 2017 · 191 MW · 37 2 Oct 2017 · 29 MW · 3
19 Aug 30 Aug 11 Sept 26 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

35°high
49km/h · peak gust
21%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.5 mm on 10 Oct.

This area had burned before

2% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 2,454 ha in 2016.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 70% of the area of London (1,106 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. Cumaru do Norte 14,036 inhabitants where it started
    92,222 ha reached on 19 Aug
    5.4 %
  2. Santa Maria das Barreiras 16,548 inhabitants
    19,372 ha reached on 26 Aug
    1.9 %

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 2015
Built-up area5.1 ha
Residents≈ 550

Inside the perimeter there were about 5.1 hectares of built-up land and about 550 residents (GHSL 2015, 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)

Started with 60 days without rain: 55 % of the area in Brazil

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
19 Aug 34.8 °C 25 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
20 Aug 33.5 °C 32 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
21 Aug 34.2 °C 22 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
22 Aug 34.7 °C 25 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
23 Aug 32.5 °C 29 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
24 Aug 32.8 °C 26 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
25 Aug 33.2 °C 28 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
26 Aug 33.0 °C 26 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
27 Aug 33.5 °C 26 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
28 Aug 33.9 °C 26 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
29 Aug 33.9 °C 23 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
30 Aug 34.0 °C 28 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
31 Aug 34.8 °C 24 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
1 Sept 32.9 °C 30 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
2 Sept 32.3 °C 28 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
3 Sept 32.9 °C 22 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
4 Sept 31.8 °C 28 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
5 Sept 32.9 °C 29 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
6 Sept 33.5 °C 26 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
7 Sept 33.4 °C 30 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
8 Sept 33.0 °C 33 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
9 Sept 33.1 °C 29 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
10 Sept 34.1 °C 27 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
11 Sept 34.6 °C 27 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
12 Sept 34.3 °C 23 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
13 Sept 33.3 °C 27 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
14 Sept 33.9 °C 26 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
15 Sept 34.6 °C 25 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
16 Sept 33.9 °C 21 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
17 Sept 33.6 °C 23 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
18 Sept 34.5 °C 24 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
19 Sept 34.9 °C 25 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
20 Sept 34.0 °C 28 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
21 Sept 32.4 °C 37 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
22 Sept 34.0 °C 26 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
23 Sept 32.8 °C 34 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
24 Sept 34.0 °C 29 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
25 Sept 33.1 °C 29 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
26 Sept 33.3 °C 33 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
27 Sept 33.6 °C 32 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
28 Sept 34.2 °C 33 % 30 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 42
29 Sept 33.6 °C 37 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
30 Sept 31.7 °C 42 % 31 km/h 0.3 mm High 33
1 Oct 31.6 °C 44 % 32 km/h 0.8 mm High 34
2 Oct 33.7 °C 34 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
3 Oct after 30.0 °C 46 % 30 km/h 0.6 mm High 34
4 Oct after 34.0 °C 33 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
5 Oct after 32.5 °C 39 % 37 km/h 0.4 mm Very high 39
6 Oct after 33.4 °C 34 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
7 Oct after 32.8 °C 36 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
8 Oct after 31.8 °C 41 % 30 km/h 0.3 mm High 36
9 Oct after 30.7 °C 50 % 30 km/h 0.7 mm High 30
10 Oct after 31.1 °C 45 % 34 km/h 1.5 mm High 27

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 46.4, a minimum humidity of 25% and more than two months without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 21.

FWI at the start 46.4
Minimum humidity 25 %
Days without rain 60+
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Santana do Araguaia fire, August 2021
5,102 ha 9 days FWI 45.6 Min. humidity 24 % 60 km away, in 2021

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.

What happened to them

18 days
median duration
8,869 ha
median area
48 %
went past 10,000 ha
3.0 mm
rain at the end (median; 11 of 21 had it)

It was 12.5 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 45 days, against 18 days.

Only 1 of its 21 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 10 of 21, 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 3.0 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

1.5 mmfirst rain
10 Oct8 days after it ended
49km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 2 Oct, and on 10 Oct 1.5 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 11 of 21, with a median of 3.0 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.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 12 Aug 2017
After · 9 Oct 2017

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 · 4,957Every 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 Brazil

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Cumaru do Norte fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 19 August 2017 to 2 October 2017 (45 days). The perimeter dates it from 19 August 2017 to 26 September 2017.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 110,635 hectares (1,106.4 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Cumaru do Norte (92,222 ha, 5.4 %); Santa Maria das Barreiras (19,372 ha, 1.9 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 34.9 °C, humidity dropped to 21 % and gusts hit 49 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 65, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Brazil (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: 21. Their median duration was 18 days and their median area 8,869 ha; 48 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 1 of its 21 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 10 of 21, 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 3.0 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.

Emergency number: 193 · 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: 26 September 2017 → 2 October 2017.

RSS Changes to this page With cross-checks and a citable version

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 193.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 3 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 19 August 2017 to 26 September 2017. 4,957 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 2015, 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 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). 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.