Gemsbok fire, 18 October 2017 Tshabong, Gemsbok
The fire started on 18 October 2017 in Gemsbok, Botswana, and satellites saw it burning for 5 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 6,870 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.
It is the 106th largest in Kgalagadi since 2016 (of 423 with a page). Number 54 in Botswana in 2017, of 196.
The power measured by the satellite is low (25.5 MW in the strongest hotspot), more typical of grass or stubble burning, or a slow surface fire, than of a large crown fire.
- Burnt area
- 6,870ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 5days
- 18 Oct 2017 – 22 Oct 2017
- Municipalities hit
- 2
- subdistricts
- Started on
- 18 Oct
- 2017
- Heat detections
- 256
- in a single hotspot: 26 MW
- Danger at start
- 49
- Very high · FWI index
- Energy released
- 2.1GW
- sum of detected power
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 13 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.
This area had burned before
No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.
What happened to each town
-
3,897 ha reached on 18 Oct0.1 %
-
Gemsbok where it started3,004 ha reached on 16 Oct0.1 %
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct | 32.5 °C | 7 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 49 |
| 19 Oct | 26.4 °C | 12 % | 44 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 68 |
| 20 Oct | 29.1 °C | 13 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 64 |
| 21 Oct | 31.8 °C | 5 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very extreme 71 |
| 22 Oct | 36.7 °C | 4 % | 64 km/h | 0.8 mm | Very extreme 91 |
| 23 Oct after | 34.5 °C | 22 % | 59 km/h | 0.8 mm | Extreme 64 |
| 24 Oct after | 34.6 °C | 19 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very high 46 |
| 25 Oct after | 34.7 °C | 8 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 61 |
| 26 Oct after | 30.0 °C | 9 % | 39 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 66 |
| 27 Oct after | 29.4 °C | 10 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 64 |
| 28 Oct after | 32.5 °C | 12 % | 54 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very extreme 80 |
| 29 Oct after | 29.8 °C | 29 % | 58 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 65 |
| 30 Oct after | 31.3 °C | 22 % | 44 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 53 |
| 31 Oct after | 34.0 °C | 15 % | 44 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 59 |
| 1 Nov after | 32.6 °C | 11 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Extreme 59 |
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.
Detections table · 256Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Gemsbok fire last?
- GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 18 October 2017 and 22 October 2017: 5 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 6,870 hectares (68.7 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 2 municipalities: Tshabong (3,897 ha, 0.1 %); Gemsbok (3,004 ha, 0.1 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 36.7 °C, humidity dropped to 4 % and gusts hit 64 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 91, class Very extreme.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Botswana (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
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
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 (Public Domain). 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.