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Kaya fire, 27 September 2016 Kaya, Fouli

Out · last detection 4 Nov 2016, 12:18 UTC

The fire started on 27 September 2016 in Kaya, Chad, and satellites saw it burning for 38 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 57,635 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.

It is the largest fire in Lac since 2016 (of 44 with a page). The largest in Chad in 2016, of 220.

Burnt area
57,635ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
38days
27 Sept 2016 – 3 Nov 2016
Municipalities hit
2
departments
Started on
27 Sept
2016
Heat detections
2,540
in a single hotspot: 201 MW
Danger at start
43
Very high · FWI index
Energy released
35.0GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

4 Nov 2016
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 27 Sept3 Nov

How it evolved, day by day

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

The weather it burned in

42°high
58km/h · peak gust
3%lowest humidity

It had gone 6 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

  1. Kaya where it started
    23,348 ha reached on 27 Sept
    6.1 %
  2. Fouli
    22,570 ha reached on 1 Oct
    2.8 %

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)
27 Sept 40.3 °C 18 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
28 Sept 40.4 °C 12 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
29 Sept 40.3 °C 13 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
30 Sept 41.0 °C 12 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
1 Oct 41.0 °C 12 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
2 Oct 40.6 °C 11 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
3 Oct 40.5 °C 10 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
4 Oct 41.0 °C 10 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
5 Oct 40.7 °C 11 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
6 Oct 37.4 °C 22 % 33 km/h 0.8 mm Very high 47
7 Oct 40.6 °C 15 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
8 Oct 41.5 °C 9 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 70
9 Oct 40.9 °C 10 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
10 Oct 41.7 °C 14 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
11 Oct 42.1 °C 14 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
12 Oct 39.7 °C 26 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
13 Oct 41.3 °C 6 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 69
14 Oct 41.7 °C 3 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 79
15 Oct 41.0 °C 5 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 81
16 Oct 41.5 °C 4 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 77
17 Oct 40.8 °C 6 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 85
18 Oct 40.4 °C 8 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 87
19 Oct 39.0 °C 20 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
20 Oct 39.6 °C 10 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 76
21 Oct 39.4 °C 9 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 73
22 Oct 38.5 °C 10 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 82
23 Oct 37.6 °C 9 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 79
24 Oct 37.9 °C 10 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 76
25 Oct 37.9 °C 14 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 79
26 Oct 37.6 °C 14 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 80
27 Oct 37.2 °C 11 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 80
28 Oct 37.3 °C 12 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 75
29 Oct 38.7 °C 15 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
30 Oct 38.5 °C 17 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
31 Oct 39.7 °C 13 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 73
1 Nov 40.1 °C 9 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 84
2 Nov 37.9 °C 11 % 58 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 93
3 Nov 35.9 °C 13 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 81
4 Nov after 36.2 °C 13 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 78
5 Nov after 36.5 °C 12 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
6 Nov after 36.5 °C 11 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 74
7 Nov after 37.3 °C 10 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
8 Nov after 38.5 °C 8 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
9 Nov after 37.6 °C 9 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 74
10 Nov after 38.8 °C 8 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
11 Nov after 38.0 °C 10 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
12 Nov after 37.5 °C 10 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 74
13 Nov after 38.7 °C 11 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 72
14 Nov after 37.8 °C 11 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 83
15 Nov after 38.8 °C 13 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 78
16 Nov after 38.6 °C 12 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 81
17 Nov after 37.5 °C 14 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 76
18 Nov after 38.1 °C 13 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
19 Nov after 38.2 °C 12 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 20 Sept 2016
After · 10 Nov 2016

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 · 2,540Every 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 Chad ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Kaya fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 27 September 2016 and 3 November 2016: 38 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 57,635 hectares (576.4 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Kaya (23,348 ha, 6.1 %); Fouli (22,570 ha, 2.8 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 42.1 °C, humidity dropped to 3 % and gusts hit 58 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 93, class Very extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Chad (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.

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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.