Skip to content
worldfires
MZ · Mozambique · →

Milange fire, 13 September 2016 Lugela, Milange, Mocuba

Out · last detection 23 Oct 2016, 10:53 UTC

The fire started on 13 September 2016 in Milange, Mozambique, and satellites saw it burning for 40 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 99,267 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 municipalities.

It is the 13th largest in Zambézia since 2016 (of 842 with a page). Number 2 in Mozambique in 2016, of 194.

Burnt area
99,267ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
40days
13 Sept 2016 – 22 Oct 2016
Municipalities hit
3
districts
Started on
13 Sept
2016
Heat detections
6,676
in a single hotspot: 279 MW
Danger at start
30
High · FWI index
Energy released
79.6GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

23 Oct 2016
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 13 Sept22 Oct

How it evolved, day by day

13141516171819202122232425262728293012567891011121314151617181920212223

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
49km/h · peak gust
16%lowest humidity

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

  1. Lugela
    56,363 ha reached on 9 Sept
    9.2 %
  2. Milange where it started
    43,014 ha reached on 7 Sept
    7.8 %
  3. Mocuba
    478 ha reached on 16 Sept
    0.0 %

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)
7 Sept 31.8 °C 29 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
8 Sept 33.8 °C 26 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
9 Sept 34.0 °C 16 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
10 Sept 34.3 °C 20 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
11 Sept 31.4 °C 30 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
12 Sept 30.3 °C 33 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
13 Sept 32.2 °C 26 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
14 Sept 31.3 °C 33 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
15 Sept 31.9 °C 28 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
16 Sept 34.0 °C 23 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
17 Sept 35.0 °C 24 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
18 Sept 33.8 °C 19 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
19 Sept 30.9 °C 34 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
20 Sept 28.2 °C 41 % 32 km/h 0.7 mm High 23
21 Sept 31.2 °C 28 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
22 Sept 32.3 °C 27 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
23 Sept 34.1 °C 23 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
24 Sept 34.8 °C 19 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
25 Sept 36.0 °C 20 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
26 Sept 31.4 °C 30 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
27 Sept 33.7 °C 22 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
28 Sept 34.9 °C 22 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
29 Sept 33.8 °C 25 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
30 Sept 33.7 °C 23 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
1 Oct 34.8 °C 23 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
2 Oct 35.2 °C 25 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
3 Oct 27.8 °C 49 % 45 km/h 7.2 mm Low 8
4 Oct 22.6 °C 58 % 34 km/h 2.0 mm Low 6
5 Oct 29.4 °C 26 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
6 Oct 32.4 °C 23 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
7 Oct 35.3 °C 21 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
8 Oct 35.3 °C 19 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
9 Oct 35.4 °C 27 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
10 Oct 35.9 °C 21 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
11 Oct 34.7 °C 27 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
12 Oct 36.6 °C 20 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
13 Oct 35.2 °C 21 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
14 Oct 31.3 °C 33 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
15 Oct 31.4 °C 38 % 26 km/h 0.3 mm High 32
16 Oct 35.8 °C 23 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
17 Oct 36.8 °C 24 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
18 Oct 35.4 °C 21 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
19 Oct 32.8 °C 33 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
20 Oct 33.3 °C 34 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
21 Oct 34.4 °C 29 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
22 Oct 35.7 °C 26 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
23 Oct after 36.5 °C 24 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
24 Oct after 36.7 °C 23 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
25 Oct after 36.8 °C 20 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
26 Oct after 36.0 °C 22 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
27 Oct after 36.0 °C 23 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
28 Oct after 36.7 °C 25 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
29 Oct after 35.6 °C 29 % 31 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 40
30 Oct after 35.7 °C 28 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
31 Oct after 38.0 °C 22 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
1 Nov after 37.8 °C 25 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
2 Nov after 34.4 °C 28 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
3 Nov after 34.1 °C 36 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
4 Nov after 34.5 °C 40 % 24 km/h 0.1 mm High 32
5 Nov after 36.0 °C 26 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
6 Nov after 35.3 °C 28 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
7 Nov after 35.4 °C 28 % 43 km/h 0.9 mm Very high 39
8 Nov after 35.1 °C 28 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 37

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 6 Sept 2016
After · 29 Oct 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 · 6,676Every 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 Mozambique ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Milange fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 13 September 2016 and 22 October 2016: 40 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 99,267 hectares (992.7 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Lugela (56,363 ha, 9.2 %); Milange (43,014 ha, 7.8 %); Mocuba (478 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 36.8 °C, humidity dropped to 16 % and gusts hit 49 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 48, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Mozambique (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
What do you think is wrong?

We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy.

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.