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MM · Myanmar · –

Hpasawng fire, 18 February 2024 Hpruso, Hpasawng, Bawlake

Out · last detection 19 Mar 2024, 18:29 UTC

The fire started on 18 February 2024 in Hpasawng, Myanmar, and satellites saw it burning for 31 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 9,903 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 municipalities.

It is the 16th largest in Kayah since 2016 (of 169 with a page). Number 11 in Myanmar in 2024, of 174.

Compare with…
Burnt area
9,903ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
31days
18 Feb 2024 – 19 Mar 2024
Municipalities hit
3
municipalities
Started on
18 Feb
2024
Heat detections
445
in a single hotspot: 140 MW
Danger at start
27
High · FWI index
Average daily power
106MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 18 Feb19 Mar
19 Mar 2024

How it evolved, day by day

18 Feb 2024 · 7 MW · 5 19 Feb 2024 · 13 MW · 5 22 Feb 2024 · 73 MW · 8 23 Feb 2024 · 12 MW · 5 24 Feb 2024 · 33 MW · 12 25 Feb 2024 · 40 MW · 20 26 Feb 2024 · 6 MW · 3 27 Feb 2024 · 20 MW · 10 28 Feb 2024 · 42 MW · 7 29 Feb 2024 · 51 MW · 24 1 Mar 2024 · 204 MW · 102 2 Mar 2024 · 70 MW · 28 3 Mar 2024 · 105 MW · 18 4 Mar 2024 · 48 MW · 17 5 Mar 2024 · 3 MW · 3 6 Mar 2024 · 18 MW · 8 7 Mar 2024 · 26 MW · 6 8 Mar 2024 · 8 MW · 5 9 Mar 2024 · 239 MW · 39 10 Mar 2024 · 124 MW · 22 11 Mar 2024 · 190 MW · 41 12 Mar 2024 · 201 MW · 21 13 Mar 2024 · 20 MW · 5 14 Mar 2024 · 605 MW · 8 18 Mar 2024 · 126 MW · 2 19 Mar 2024 · 465 MW · 21
18 Feb 26 Feb 3 Mar 9 Mar 14 Mar

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
42km/h · peak gust
27%lowest humidity

It had gone 21 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 7.9 mm on 21 Mar.

This area had burned before

61% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 3,429 ha in 2016, 2,260 ha in 2017, 324 ha in 2018, 1,161 ha in 2019, 3,049 ha in 2020, 648 ha in 2021, 702 ha in 2022, 867 ha in 2023. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 6,028 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 6.3% of the area of London (99 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. 4,950 ha reached on 22 Feb
    3.0 %
  2. Hpasawng where it started
    4,096 ha reached on 19 Feb
    2.8 %
  3. 926 ha reached on 18 Feb
    0.5 %

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 2025
Built-up area0.58 ha
Residents≈ 400

Inside the perimeter there were about 0.58 hectares of built-up land and about 400 residents (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)
18 Feb 32.1 °C 27 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
19 Feb 31.7 °C 31 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
20 Feb 31.0 °C 34 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
21 Feb 30.7 °C 38 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
22 Feb 31.2 °C 37 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
23 Feb 31.6 °C 46 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
24 Feb 32.5 °C 37 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
25 Feb 33.7 °C 31 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
26 Feb 33.5 °C 33 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
27 Feb 34.4 °C 34 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
28 Feb 34.2 °C 31 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
29 Feb 33.6 °C 35 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
1 Mar 33.7 °C 31 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
2 Mar 34.1 °C 33 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
3 Mar 33.6 °C 37 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
4 Mar 34.5 °C 27 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
5 Mar 34.1 °C 35 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
6 Mar 34.1 °C 36 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
7 Mar 33.5 °C 34 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
8 Mar 34.6 °C 35 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
9 Mar 34.7 °C 34 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
10 Mar 34.5 °C 36 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
11 Mar 34.5 °C 33 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
12 Mar 33.3 °C 36 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
13 Mar 33.8 °C 31 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
14 Mar 32.9 °C 37 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
15 Mar 33.5 °C 35 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
16 Mar 33.9 °C 40 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
17 Mar 33.9 °C 41 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
18 Mar 34.9 °C 39 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
19 Mar 35.3 °C 35 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
20 Mar after 34.6 °C 30 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
21 Mar after 30.5 °C 51 % 32 km/h 7.9 mm Very low 4

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 27.0, a minimum humidity of 27% and 21 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 45.

FWI at the start 27.0
Minimum humidity 27 %
Days without rain 21
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Mese fire, March 2021
2,284 ha 9 days FWI 26.9 Min. humidity 25 % 47 km away, in 2021

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

What happened to them

10 days
median duration
2,670 ha
median area
98 %
went past 1,000 ha
1.5 mm
rain at the end (median; 10 of 45 had it)

It was 3.7 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 31 days, against 10 days.

Only 3 of its 45 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 35 of 45, 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 1.5 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

7.9 mmfirst rain
21 Mar2 days after it ended
42km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 19 Mar, and on 21 Mar 7.9 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 10 of 45, with a median of 1.5 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 · 11 Feb 2024
After · 26 Mar 2024

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 · Copernicus

On 16 March 2024 the air beside the fire reached 62 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 46: 3.1 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak62 µg/m³
Days over the guideline17 days
PM1096 µg/m³
Optical depth1.43
23 Feb28 Feb4 Mar9 Mar14 Mar
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely poor

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 · 445Every 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 Myanmar

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Hpasawng fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 18 February 2024 to 19 March 2024 (31 days). The perimeter dates it from 25 February 2024 to 14 March 2024.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 9,903 hectares (99.0 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Hpruso (4,950 ha, 3.0 %); Hpasawng (4,096 ha, 2.8 %); Bawlake (926 ha, 0.5 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 35.3 °C, humidity dropped to 27 % and gusts hit 42 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 Myanmar (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: 45. Their median duration was 10 days and their median area 2,670 ha; 98 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 3 of its 45 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 35 of 45, 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 1.5 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.

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 2 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 14 March 2024 → 19 March 2024.
  2. Start date: 25 February 2024 → 18 February 2024.

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.

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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 25 February 2024 to 14 March 2024. 445 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.

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 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.