How long did the Mackenzie County fire last?

It burned between 1 June 2024 and 13 August 2024: 74 days, according to the dates recorded by Canada’s CWFIS and the heat detections seen by satellite.

How much area did it burn?

The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 81,134 hectares (811.3 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.

Which census subdivisions burned?

The fire entered 2 census subdivisions: Mackenzie County (84,030 ha, 1.0 %); Region 4, Unorganized (2 ha, 0.0 %).

What was the weather like?

During the fire the temperature reached 30.5 °C, humidity dropped to 22 % and gusts hit 55 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 23, class High.

Where does this data come from?

From the official burnt perimeter of Canada’s CWFIS (NBAC, Natural Resources Canada) or, for the current season and until NBAC publishes it, the one rebuilt by GWIS (Copernicus); from NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots; and from the administrative boundaries of Canada. It is not an official report.

CA · Canada · 2024-06-01 → 2024-08-13

Mackenzie County fire, 1 June 2024 Mackenzie County, Region 4, Unorganized

Out · last detection 13 Aug 2024, 08:53 UTC

The fire started on 1 June 2024 in Mackenzie County, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 74 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 81,134 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 2 census subdivisions.

It is the 14th largest in Alberta since 2016 (of 243 with a page). Number 10 in Canada in 2024, of 291.

Burnt area: 81,134ha; official perimeter (CWFIS)
Duration: 74days; 1 Jun 2024 – 13 Aug 2024
Municipalities hit: 2; municipalities
Started on: 1 Jun; 2024
Heat detections: 10,663; in a single hotspot: 656 MW
Danger at start: 18; Moderate · FWI index
Energy released: 199.1GW; sum of detected power

Play back 13 Aug 2024

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 1 Jun13 Aug

How it evolved, day by day

1820222324252627282930123456789161718192021222330311235678910111213

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

The weather it burned in

30°high

55km/h · peak gust

22%lowest humidity

It had gone 5 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.3 mm on 26 Aug.

This area had burned before

0% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 5 ha in 2016, 4 ha in 2022.

What happened to each town

Mackenzie County where it started

84,030 ha reached on 25 May

1.0 %
Region 4, Unorganized

2 ha

0.0 %

Burnt area inside each census subdivision, from crossing the official 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)
25 May	18.7 °C	22 %	35 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 18
26 May	14.5 °C	34 %	32 km/h	4.2 mm	Very low 2
27 May	16.0 °C	43 %	34 km/h	6.5 mm	Very low 1
28 May	16.2 °C	31 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 3
29 May	16.2 °C	26 %	35 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
30 May	14.4 °C	58 %	50 km/h	6.4 mm	Very low 1
31 May	14.5 °C	32 %	51 km/h	1.5 mm	Very low 3
1 Jun	15.3 °C	22 %	33 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 6
2 Jun	15.1 °C	36 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
3 Jun	14.4 °C	41 %	43 km/h	0.4 mm	Low 11
4 Jun	16.2 °C	35 %	40 km/h	2.4 mm	Very low 3
5 Jun	10.1 °C	62 %	34 km/h	4.8 mm	Very low 0
6 Jun	14.2 °C	49 %	38 km/h	5.1 mm	Very low 0
7 Jun	7.1 °C	80 %	41 km/h	5.4 mm	Very low 0
8 Jun	7.4 °C	73 %	39 km/h	2.3 mm	Very low 0
9 Jun	10.2 °C	68 %	23 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 0
10 Jun	13.2 °C	60 %	22 km/h	0.5 mm	Very low 0
11 Jun	14.9 °C	51 %	30 km/h	1.2 mm	Very low 1
12 Jun	16.5 °C	45 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 2
13 Jun	17.8 °C	47 %	29 km/h	4.8 mm	Very low 0
14 Jun	14.1 °C	43 %	41 km/h	5.3 mm	Very low 0
15 Jun	14.9 °C	34 %	52 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 2
16 Jun	9.2 °C	40 %	51 km/h	1.2 mm	Very low 2
17 Jun	12.0 °C	30 %	44 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 5
18 Jun	19.0 °C	25 %	28 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 8
19 Jun	20.5 °C	35 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
20 Jun	22.1 °C	36 %	38 km/h	1.2 mm	Low 7
21 Jun	21.9 °C	42 %	25 km/h	3.7 mm	Very low 1
22 Jun	26.4 °C	28 %	39 km/h	1.6 mm	Low 6
23 Jun	20.7 °C	47 %	54 km/h	1.2 mm	Low 7
24 Jun	14.5 °C	36 %	46 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 10
25 Jun	19.2 °C	31 %	29 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 11
26 Jun	22.2 °C	29 %	31 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
27 Jun	20.8 °C	26 %	36 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 17
28 Jun	21.6 °C	30 %	31 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 18
29 Jun	24.7 °C	26 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 20
30 Jun	25.8 °C	32 %	40 km/h	3.0 mm	Low 6
1 Jul	25.0 °C	37 %	31 km/h	0.1 mm	Moderate 12
2 Jul	20.8 °C	48 %	35 km/h	5.6 mm	Very low 2
3 Jul	21.7 °C	35 %	34 km/h	5.4 mm	Very low 1
4 Jul	24.2 °C	39 %	41 km/h	0.8 mm	Low 6
5 Jul	22.6 °C	35 %	52 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
6 Jul	20.9 °C	48 %	32 km/h	0.8 mm	Low 8
7 Jul	25.4 °C	30 %	45 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 17
8 Jul	24.0 °C	43 %	29 km/h	1.4 mm	Low 7
9 Jul	30.5 °C	22 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	High 22
10 Jul	29.2 °C	29 %	38 km/h	0.2 mm	High 23
11 Jul	17.2 °C	73 %	45 km/h	16.3 mm	Very low 0
12 Jul	19.1 °C	36 %	38 km/h	0.1 mm	Very low 2
13 Jul	21.2 °C	38 %	29 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 6
14 Jul	23.6 °C	31 %	50 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 16
15 Jul	26.4 °C	36 %	31 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
16 Jul	26.9 °C	29 %	45 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 20
17 Jul	29.7 °C	27 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 19
18 Jul	28.7 °C	29 %	43 km/h	0.0 mm	High 23
19 Jul	27.6 °C	39 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 21
20 Jul	23.5 °C	62 %	41 km/h	6.7 mm	Very low 2
21 Jul	26.9 °C	43 %	27 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 5
22 Jul	27.0 °C	44 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
23 Jul	27.2 °C	47 %	55 km/h	4.7 mm	Very low 4
24 Jul	21.1 °C	34 %	33 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
25 Jul	21.3 °C	39 %	33 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
26 Jul	20.7 °C	42 %	52 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 16
27 Jul	24.6 °C	38 %	28 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 13
28 Jul	21.7 °C	38 %	46 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 17
29 Jul	17.4 °C	54 %	31 km/h	4.6 mm	Very low 1
30 Jul	20.8 °C	39 %	55 km/h	0.2 mm	Low 7
31 Jul	18.6 °C	54 %	41 km/h	3.9 mm	Very low 2
1 Aug	16.8 °C	59 %	33 km/h	3.5 mm	Very low 0
2 Aug	20.6 °C	35 %	28 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 3
3 Aug	21.5 °C	35 %	37 km/h	1.6 mm	Very low 4
4 Aug	17.9 °C	58 %	32 km/h	2.3 mm	Very low 2
5 Aug	20.9 °C	40 %	25 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 5
6 Aug	22.2 °C	39 %	29 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 9
7 Aug	23.9 °C	37 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
8 Aug	23.7 °C	37 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 14
9 Aug	24.1 °C	36 %	46 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 16
10 Aug	26.7 °C	37 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 17
11 Aug	28.8 °C	27 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	High 22
12 Aug	28.3 °C	30 %	36 km/h	0.0 mm	High 21
13 Aug	17.7 °C	68 %	37 km/h	7.6 mm	Very low 0
14 Aug after	16.1 °C	67 %	19 km/h	3.9 mm	Very low 0
15 Aug after	14.5 °C	65 %	29 km/h	5.5 mm	Very low 0
16 Aug after	17.0 °C	45 %	27 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 1
17 Aug after	20.8 °C	37 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
18 Aug after	21.0 °C	42 %	29 km/h	0.2 mm	Low 7
19 Aug after	21.8 °C	37 %	46 km/h	0.0 mm	Moderate 12
20 Aug after	20.7 °C	47 %	44 km/h	6.8 mm	Very low 1
21 Aug after	11.7 °C	62 %	44 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 2
22 Aug after	17.4 °C	52 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	Very low 4
23 Aug after	16.5 °C	45 %	49 km/h	0.1 mm	Low 8
24 Aug after	15.8 °C	49 %	22 km/h	0.0 mm	Low 6
25 Aug after	17.8 °C	45 %	34 km/h	0.1 mm	Low 8
26 Aug after	17.6 °C	61 %	42 km/h	1.3 mm	Very low 4

Before and after, from space

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

↔

Before · 25 May 2024

After · 20 Aug 2024

Before After

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 15 August 2024 the air beside the fire reached 639 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 346: 23 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak639 µg/m³

Days over the guideline44 days

PM10911 µg/m³

Optical depth7.94

WHO 15

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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 · 10,663Every 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 time	Satellite	FRP (MW)	Lat	Lon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Canada ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Mackenzie County fire last?: It burned between 1 June 2024 and 13 August 2024: 74 days, according to the dates recorded by Canada’s CWFIS and the heat detections seen by satellite.
How much area did it burn?: The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 81,134 hectares (811.3 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
Which census subdivisions burned?: The fire entered 2 census subdivisions: Mackenzie County (84,030 ha, 1.0 %); Region 4, Unorganized (2 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?: During the fire the temperature reached 30.5 °C, humidity dropped to 22 % and gusts hit 55 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 23, class High.
Where does this data come from?: From the official burnt perimeter of Canada’s CWFIS (NBAC, Natural Resources Canada) or, for the current season and until NBAC publishes it, the one rebuilt by GWIS (Copernicus); from NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots; and from the administrative boundaries of Canada. 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.

Emergency number: 911

Satellite cross-check

NASA FIRMS ↗
CWFIS · Interactive map ↗

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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What really happened?

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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 911.

Where this data comes from

The perimeter is official: it comes from the National Burned Area Composite (NBAC) of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), Natural Resources Canada, which maps it on satellite imagery and publishes it under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Until NBAC publishes the current season, this year’s fires carry the perimeter rebuilt from heat detections by GWIS (Copernicus, CC BY 4.0), which is approximate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Census subdivision boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (Open Data Commons Open Database License 1.0). The area per census subdivision is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from official figures.

Where it burned