Skip to content
worldfires
en
CF · Central African Republic · →

Djema fire, November 2017 Djema

Out · last detection 31 Dec 2017, 12:03 UTC

The fire started on 24 November 2017 in Djema, Central African Republic, and satellites saw it burning for 38 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 49,715 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.

It is the 23th largest in Haut-Mbomou since 2016 (of 298 with a page). Number 3 in Central African Republic in 2017, of 100.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Djema · 2016Djema · 2016Djema · 2016Djema · 2016

Burnt area
49,715ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
38days
24 Nov 2017 – 31 Dec 2017
Municipalities hit
1
sub-prefectures
Started on
24 Nov
2017
Heat detections
1,855
in a single hotspot: 102 MW
Danger at start
22
High · FWI index
Average daily power
270MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 24 Nov31 Dec
31 Dec 2017

How it evolved, day by day

24 Nov 2017 · 20 MW · 4 25 Nov 2017 · 18 MW · 3 26 Nov 2017 · 17 MW · 3 27 Nov 2017 · 102 MW · 10 29 Nov 2017 · 68 MW · 8 1 Dec 2017 · 215 MW · 27 2 Dec 2017 · 252 MW · 63 3 Dec 2017 · 294 MW · 34 4 Dec 2017 · 185 MW · 15 5 Dec 2017 · 136 MW · 30 6 Dec 2017 · 141 MW · 33 7 Dec 2017 · 92 MW · 24 8 Dec 2017 · 70 MW · 36 9 Dec 2017 · 22 MW · 16 10 Dec 2017 · 380 MW · 41 11 Dec 2017 · 364 MW · 41 12 Dec 2017 · 420 MW · 50 13 Dec 2017 · 239 MW · 93 14 Dec 2017 · 703 MW · 129 15 Dec 2017 · 1,374 MW · 178 16 Dec 2017 · 1,128 MW · 163 17 Dec 2017 · 604 MW · 188 18 Dec 2017 · 162 MW · 86 19 Dec 2017 · 398 MW · 86 20 Dec 2017 · 98 MW · 31 21 Dec 2017 · 241 MW · 44 22 Dec 2017 · 542 MW · 112 23 Dec 2017 · 603 MW · 190 24 Dec 2017 · 115 MW · 42 25 Dec 2017 · 8 MW · 9 26 Dec 2017 · 9 MW · 2 27 Dec 2017 · 47 MW · 14 28 Dec 2017 · 59 MW · 21 30 Dec 2017 · 302 MW · 17 31 Dec 2017 · 40 MW · 12
24 Nov 1 Dec 6 Dec 11 Dec 15 Dec 16 Dec 21 Dec 26 Dec

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

The weather it burned in

37°high
45km/h · peak gust
12%lowest humidity

It had gone 4 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

51% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 28,270 ha in 2016. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 25,377 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 31% of the area of London (497 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. Djema where it started
    50,058 ha reached on 24 Nov
    1.4 %

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.

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)
24 Nov 31.6 °C 22 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
25 Nov 32.5 °C 21 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
26 Nov 33.1 °C 18 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
27 Nov 32.3 °C 21 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
28 Nov 32.7 °C 20 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
29 Nov 33.6 °C 24 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
30 Nov 33.6 °C 25 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
1 Dec 33.5 °C 19 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
2 Dec 32.8 °C 19 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
3 Dec 34.1 °C 18 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
4 Dec 34.7 °C 19 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
5 Dec 35.1 °C 20 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
6 Dec 35.2 °C 20 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
7 Dec 34.4 °C 19 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
8 Dec 33.7 °C 19 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
9 Dec 34.2 °C 20 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
10 Dec 35.2 °C 17 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
11 Dec 34.6 °C 19 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
12 Dec 35.7 °C 15 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
13 Dec 35.4 °C 15 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
14 Dec 35.4 °C 16 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
15 Dec 34.9 °C 16 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
16 Dec 34.5 °C 16 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
17 Dec 34.5 °C 17 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
18 Dec 35.4 °C 17 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
19 Dec 35.9 °C 15 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
20 Dec 36.0 °C 16 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
21 Dec 36.5 °C 16 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
22 Dec 37.0 °C 12 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
23 Dec 37.1 °C 12 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
24 Dec 36.0 °C 13 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
25 Dec 34.9 °C 15 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
26 Dec 34.4 °C 16 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
27 Dec 35.3 °C 15 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
28 Dec 36.5 °C 15 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
29 Dec 36.5 °C 14 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
30 Dec 36.4 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
31 Dec 34.1 °C 14 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
1 Jan after 31.8 °C 15 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
2 Jan after 31.4 °C 14 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
3 Jan after 32.0 °C 10 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
4 Jan after 32.2 °C 11 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
5 Jan after 31.8 °C 12 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
6 Jan after 32.7 °C 12 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
7 Jan after 33.1 °C 10 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
8 Jan after 33.4 °C 12 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
9 Jan after 32.9 °C 12 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
10 Jan after 33.9 °C 12 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 17 Nov 2017
After · 7 Jan 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 · 1,855Every 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 Central African Republic ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Djema fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 24 November 2017 to 31 December 2017 (38 days). The perimeter dates it from 29 November 2017 to 24 December 2017.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 49,715 hectares (497.2 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Djema (50,058 ha, 1.4 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 37.1 °C, humidity dropped to 12 % and gusts hit 45 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 50, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Central African Republic (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.

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.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 2 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 29 November 2017 to 24 December 2017. 1,855 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.

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 ADM3 (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.