Skip to content
worldfires
en
CM · Cameroon · →

Ngambé-Tikar fire, January 2020 Ngambé-Tikar

Out · last detection 11 Mar 2020, 00:40 UTC

The fire started on 17 January 2020 in Ngambé-Tikar, Cameroon, and satellites saw it burning for 54 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 22,996 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.

This page is probably a fire complex, not a single fire. GWIS merges into one perimeter the fires that touch over weeks, which in large burning seasons can join dozens of separate fires. The total area is reliable; the origin and dates refer to the whole complex.

Other fire pages in the same area and on the same dates:

It is the 4th largest in Centre since 2016 (of 200 with a page). The largest in Cameroon in 2020, of 268.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Ngambé-Tikar · 2019Ngambé-Tikar · 2017Ngambé-Tikar · 2016Ngambé-Tikar · 2017

Burnt area
22,996ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
54days
17 Jan 2020 – 10 Mar 2020
Municipalities hit
1
communes
Started on
17 Jan
2020
Heat detections
2,304
in a single hotspot: 217 MW
Danger at start
45
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
489MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 17 Jan10 Mar
11 Mar 2020

How it evolved, day by day

17 Jan 2020 · 5 MW · 4 18 Jan 2020 · 4 MW · 1 20 Jan 2020 · 85 MW · 9 21 Jan 2020 · 57 MW · 5 22 Jan 2020 · 113 MW · 13 23 Jan 2020 · 182 MW · 14 24 Jan 2020 · 92 MW · 14 25 Jan 2020 · 252 MW · 40 26 Jan 2020 · 580 MW · 38 27 Jan 2020 · 432 MW · 38 28 Jan 2020 · 31 MW · 18 29 Jan 2020 · 46 MW · 19 1 Feb 2020 · 29 MW · 7 2 Feb 2020 · 66 MW · 16 3 Feb 2020 · 375 MW · 22 4 Feb 2020 · 82 MW · 10 5 Feb 2020 · 242 MW · 33 7 Feb 2020 · 56 MW · 10 8 Feb 2020 · 396 MW · 35 9 Feb 2020 · 383 MW · 58 10 Feb 2020 · 1,350 MW · 89 11 Feb 2020 · 749 MW · 64 12 Feb 2020 · 367 MW · 43 13 Feb 2020 · 567 MW · 71 14 Feb 2020 · 440 MW · 92 15 Feb 2020 · 1,280 MW · 110 16 Feb 2020 · 779 MW · 58 17 Feb 2020 · 340 MW · 48 18 Feb 2020 · 481 MW · 51 19 Feb 2020 · 554 MW · 84 20 Feb 2020 · 2,038 MW · 164 21 Feb 2020 · 1,983 MW · 144 22 Feb 2020 · 3,094 MW · 195 23 Feb 2020 · 362 MW · 95 24 Feb 2020 · 2,620 MW · 107 25 Feb 2020 · 769 MW · 80 26 Feb 2020 · 204 MW · 45 27 Feb 2020 · 597 MW · 44 28 Feb 2020 · 83 MW · 10 29 Feb 2020 · 989 MW · 74 1 Mar 2020 · 275 MW · 68 2 Mar 2020 · 84 MW · 22 3 Mar 2020 · 446 MW · 42 4 Mar 2020 · 3 MW · 1 5 Mar 2020 · 250 MW · 39 6 Mar 2020 · 44 MW · 22 8 Mar 2020 · 121 MW · 19 9 Mar 2020 · 77 MW · 13 10 Mar 2020 · 7 MW · 4 11 Mar 2020 · 2 MW · 2
17 Jan 26 Jan 5 Feb 14 Feb 22 Feb 1 Mar 10 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

39°high
39km/h · peak gust
7%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

50% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 7,027 ha in 2016, 9,185 ha in 2017, 8,540 ha in 2019. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 11,446 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 15% of the area of London (230 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. Ngambé-Tikar where it started
    23,155 ha reached on 17 Jan
    3.3 %

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 2020
Built-up area3.3 ha
Residents≈ 350

Inside the perimeter there were about 3.3 hectares of built-up land and about 350 residents (GHSL 2020, 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.

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)
17 Jan 33.3 °C 18 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
18 Jan 32.1 °C 26 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
19 Jan 32.8 °C 22 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
20 Jan 33.3 °C 23 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
21 Jan 34.9 °C 19 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
22 Jan 35.4 °C 12 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
23 Jan 34.2 °C 10 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
24 Jan 33.7 °C 7 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
25 Jan 32.9 °C 11 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
26 Jan 33.5 °C 10 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
27 Jan 33.5 °C 14 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
28 Jan 33.9 °C 14 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
29 Jan 33.7 °C 15 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
30 Jan 33.6 °C 16 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
31 Jan 33.2 °C 17 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
1 Feb 33.7 °C 13 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
2 Feb 33.0 °C 16 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
3 Feb 33.4 °C 15 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
4 Feb 32.7 °C 19 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
5 Feb 33.8 °C 16 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
6 Feb 33.0 °C 14 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
7 Feb 35.2 °C 11 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
8 Feb 36.6 °C 11 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
9 Feb 36.4 °C 13 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
10 Feb 34.8 °C 15 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
11 Feb 36.3 °C 12 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
12 Feb 33.6 °C 12 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
13 Feb 34.3 °C 12 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
14 Feb 35.7 °C 13 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
15 Feb 36.2 °C 12 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
16 Feb 36.9 °C 12 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
17 Feb 35.8 °C 17 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
18 Feb 34.9 °C 21 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
19 Feb 35.6 °C 13 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
20 Feb 35.6 °C 12 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
21 Feb 36.4 °C 14 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
22 Feb 38.8 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
23 Feb 37.6 °C 11 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
24 Feb 36.7 °C 10 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
25 Feb 35.0 °C 12 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
26 Feb 36.1 °C 12 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
27 Feb 36.5 °C 21 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
28 Feb 37.6 °C 13 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
29 Feb 38.5 °C 12 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
1 Mar 36.8 °C 17 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
2 Mar 35.8 °C 27 % 32 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 45
3 Mar 36.6 °C 21 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
4 Mar 35.4 °C 21 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
5 Mar 37.3 °C 14 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
6 Mar 37.5 °C 13 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
7 Mar 36.0 °C 15 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
8 Mar 37.0 °C 14 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
9 Mar 37.4 °C 13 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
10 Mar 37.7 °C 13 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
11 Mar after 37.9 °C 11 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
12 Mar after 35.3 °C 21 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
13 Mar after 36.3 °C 10 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
14 Mar after 35.4 °C 10 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
15 Mar after 36.1 °C 12 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
16 Mar after 36.7 °C 11 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
17 Mar after 36.6 °C 12 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
18 Mar after 37.6 °C 10 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
19 Mar after 38.0 °C 9 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
20 Mar after 34.6 °C 22 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 10 Jan 2020
After · 17 Mar 2020

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 · 2,304Every 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 Cameroon ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Ngambé-Tikar fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 17 January 2020 to 10 March 2020 (54 days). The perimeter dates it from 23 January 2020 to 3 March 2020.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 22,996 hectares (230.0 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Ngambé-Tikar (23,155 ha, 3.3 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 38.8 °C, humidity dropped to 7 % and gusts hit 39 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 57, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Cameroon (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

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: 3 March 2020 → 10 March 2020.
  2. Start date: 23 January 2020 → 17 January 2020.

RSS Changes to this page

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.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 6 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 23 January 2020 to 3 March 2020. 2,304 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 2020, 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 (Open Data Commons Open Database License 1.0). 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.