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BR · Brazil · –

Ourilândia do Norte fire, 25 August 2017 Ourilândia do Norte, São Félix do Xingu

Out · last detection 20 Sept 2017, 04:39 UTC

The fire started on 25 August 2017 in Ourilândia do Norte, Brazil, and satellites saw it burning for 27 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 11,969 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.

It is the 165th largest in Pará since 2016 (of 957 with a page). Number 141 in Brazil in 2017, of 994.

Burnt area
11,969ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
27days
25 Aug 2017 – 20 Sept 2017
Municipalities hit
2
municipalities
Started on
25 Aug
2017
Heat detections
532
in a single hotspot: 96 MW
Danger at start
50
Extreme · FWI index
Average daily power
101MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 25 Aug20 Sept
20 Sept 2017

How it evolved, day by day

25 Aug 2017 · 31 MW · 5 26 Aug 2017 · 11 MW · 2 27 Aug 2017 · 60 MW · 6 28 Aug 2017 · 1 MW · 1 29 Aug 2017 · 11 MW · 8 30 Aug 2017 · 72 MW · 8 31 Aug 2017 · 60 MW · 11 1 Sept 2017 · 29 MW · 3 3 Sept 2017 · 30 MW · 8 4 Sept 2017 · 109 MW · 28 5 Sept 2017 · 185 MW · 31 6 Sept 2017 · 110 MW · 18 7 Sept 2017 · 19 MW · 9 8 Sept 2017 · 65 MW · 27 9 Sept 2017 · 100 MW · 35 10 Sept 2017 · 38 MW · 9 11 Sept 2017 · 338 MW · 32 12 Sept 2017 · 285 MW · 30 13 Sept 2017 · 67 MW · 14 14 Sept 2017 · 113 MW · 63 15 Sept 2017 · 141 MW · 39 16 Sept 2017 · 507 MW · 66 17 Sept 2017 · 46 MW · 11 18 Sept 2017 · 87 MW · 22 19 Sept 2017 · 37 MW · 11 20 Sept 2017 · 85 MW · 35
25 Aug 31 Aug 7 Sept 16 Sept

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

The weather it burned in

38°high
42km/h · peak gust
20%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.0 mm on 21 Sept.

This area had burned before

No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 7.6% of the area of London (120 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. Ourilândia do Norte 32,467 inhabitants where it started
    8,814 ha reached on 25 Aug
    0.6 %
  2. São Félix do Xingu 65,418 inhabitants
    3,337 ha reached on 27 Aug
    0.0 %

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 2015
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2015, 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)

Started with 60 days without rain: 55 % of the area in Brazil

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
25 Aug 35.2 °C 29 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
26 Aug 36.6 °C 26 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
27 Aug 37.2 °C 23 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
28 Aug 36.8 °C 24 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
29 Aug 35.4 °C 27 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
30 Aug 36.1 °C 28 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
31 Aug 36.2 °C 27 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
1 Sept 35.2 °C 32 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
2 Sept 34.9 °C 31 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
3 Sept 35.8 °C 22 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
4 Sept 34.7 °C 26 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
5 Sept 35.6 °C 27 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
6 Sept 35.5 °C 27 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
7 Sept 36.2 °C 31 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
8 Sept 35.2 °C 38 % 34 km/h 0.1 mm Very high 45
9 Sept 34.9 °C 31 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
10 Sept 36.2 °C 31 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
11 Sept 37.2 °C 28 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
12 Sept 36.7 °C 24 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
13 Sept 35.9 °C 24 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
14 Sept 37.2 °C 26 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
15 Sept 37.7 °C 23 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
16 Sept 37.0 °C 20 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
17 Sept 35.7 °C 23 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
18 Sept 37.3 °C 22 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
19 Sept 37.5 °C 24 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
20 Sept 35.4 °C 32 % 37 km/h 0.1 mm Extreme 51
21 Sept after 33.4 °C 45 % 29 km/h 1.0 mm High 32

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 50.5, a minimum humidity of 29% and more than two months without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 19.

FWI at the start 50.5
Minimum humidity 29 %
Days without rain 60+
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Santa Maria das Barreiras fire, September 2022
3,753 ha 8 days FWI 49.6 Min. humidity 29 % 160 km away, in 2022

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 7.4 mm on 21 Sept.

What happened to them

16 days
median duration
5,109 ha
median area
26 %
went past 10,000 ha
3.4 mm
rain at the end (median; 11 of 19 had it)

It was 2.3 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 27 days, against 16 days.

Only 4 of its 19 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 8 of 19, 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 3.4 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

1.0 mmfirst rain
21 Septthe day after it ended
42km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 20 Sept, and on 21 Sept 1.0 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 11 of 19, with a median of 3.4 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 · 18 Aug 2017
After · 27 Sept 2017

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 · 532Every 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 Brazil

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Ourilândia do Norte fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 25 August 2017 and 20 September 2017: 27 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 11,969 hectares (119.7 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Ourilândia do Norte (8,814 ha, 0.6 %); São Félix do Xingu (3,337 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 37.7 °C, humidity dropped to 20 % and gusts hit 42 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 61, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Brazil (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: 19. Their median duration was 16 days and their median area 5,109 ha; 26 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 4 of its 19 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 8 of 19, 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 3.4 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.

Emergency number: 193 · Emergency number and official warnings

Satellite cross-check

History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

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. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 193.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 2 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 532 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 2015, 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 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.