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Poconé fire, 17 August 2020 Cáceres, Poconé

Out · last detection 20 Oct 2020, 17:00 UTC

The fire started on 17 August 2020 in Poconé, Brazil, and satellites saw it burning for 65 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 78,512 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.

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 26th largest in Mato Grosso since 2016 (of 1996 with a page). Number 9 in Brazil in 2020, of 957.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Cáceres · 2019Cáceres · 2024Cáceres · 2024Poconé · 2021

Burnt area
78,512ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
65days
17 Aug 2020 – 20 Oct 2020
Municipalities hit
2
municipalities
Started on
17 Aug
2020
Heat detections
6,940
in a single hotspot: 557 MW
Danger at start
35
High · FWI index
Average daily power
1.9GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 17 Aug20 Oct
20 Oct 2020

How it evolved, day by day

17 Aug 2020 · 655 MW · 45 18 Aug 2020 · 454 MW · 53 19 Aug 2020 · 324 MW · 40 20 Aug 2020 · 44 MW · 18 23 Aug 2020 · 325 MW · 44 24 Aug 2020 · 240 MW · 36 25 Aug 2020 · 377 MW · 32 26 Aug 2020 · 1,000 MW · 54 27 Aug 2020 · 1,873 MW · 91 28 Aug 2020 · 1,489 MW · 99 29 Aug 2020 · 2,306 MW · 109 30 Aug 2020 · 2,056 MW · 106 31 Aug 2020 · 7,857 MW · 317 1 Sept 2020 · 5,132 MW · 223 2 Sept 2020 · 2,062 MW · 142 3 Sept 2020 · 455 MW · 60 4 Sept 2020 · 562 MW · 53 5 Sept 2020 · 2,836 MW · 120 6 Sept 2020 · 1,028 MW · 99 7 Sept 2020 · 317 MW · 42 8 Sept 2020 · 124 MW · 30 9 Sept 2020 · 170 MW · 20 10 Sept 2020 · 507 MW · 54 11 Sept 2020 · 2,514 MW · 135 12 Sept 2020 · 1,558 MW · 106 13 Sept 2020 · 1,288 MW · 79 14 Sept 2020 · 5,481 MW · 200 15 Sept 2020 · 2,351 MW · 258 16 Sept 2020 · 3,415 MW · 196 17 Sept 2020 · 905 MW · 82 18 Sept 2020 · 1,064 MW · 116 19 Sept 2020 · 1,174 MW · 83 20 Sept 2020 · 5 MW · 3 21 Sept 2020 · 2,126 MW · 113 22 Sept 2020 · 3,383 MW · 219 23 Sept 2020 · 697 MW · 28 24 Sept 2020 · 5,238 MW · 322 25 Sept 2020 · 5,740 MW · 342 26 Sept 2020 · 7,825 MW · 289 27 Sept 2020 · 5,130 MW · 194 28 Sept 2020 · 5,929 MW · 242 29 Sept 2020 · 5,427 MW · 301 30 Sept 2020 · 2,956 MW · 235 1 Oct 2020 · 3,232 MW · 171 2 Oct 2020 · 886 MW · 95 3 Oct 2020 · 1,358 MW · 97 4 Oct 2020 · 1,193 MW · 129 5 Oct 2020 · 1,531 MW · 153 6 Oct 2020 · 1,212 MW · 106 7 Oct 2020 · 1,397 MW · 116 8 Oct 2020 · 1,329 MW · 108 9 Oct 2020 · 1,338 MW · 95 10 Oct 2020 · 1,289 MW · 115 11 Oct 2020 · 519 MW · 94 12 Oct 2020 · 380 MW · 44 13 Oct 2020 · 957 MW · 91 15 Oct 2020 · 61 MW · 20 17 Oct 2020 · 316 MW · 10 18 Oct 2020 · 95 MW · 9 19 Oct 2020 · 522 MW · 55 20 Oct 2020 · 15 MW · 2
17 Aug 28 Aug 31 Aug 6 Sept 15 Sept 24 Sept 3 Oct 12 Oct

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

The weather it burned in

43°high
53km/h · peak gust
10%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 2.8 mm on 23 Oct.

This area had burned before

17% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 13,717 ha in 2019.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 50% of the area of London (785 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. Cáceres 89,681 inhabitants
    50,948 ha reached on 23 Aug
    2.1 %
  2. Poconé 31,217 inhabitants where it started
    28,167 ha reached on 17 Aug
    1.6 %

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 area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (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 Aug 35.2 °C 29 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
18 Aug 37.8 °C 24 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
19 Aug 38.4 °C 25 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
20 Aug 24.5 °C 75 % 53 km/h 2.5 mm Low 10
21 Aug 13.6 °C 62 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Low 11
22 Aug 22.0 °C 39 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
23 Aug 29.0 °C 40 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
24 Aug 35.3 °C 28 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
25 Aug 37.8 °C 24 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
26 Aug 38.1 °C 28 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
27 Aug 39.0 °C 27 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
28 Aug 39.8 °C 18 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
29 Aug 39.9 °C 12 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
30 Aug 39.0 °C 17 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
31 Aug 34.5 °C 31 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
1 Sept 32.5 °C 36 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
2 Sept 31.0 °C 35 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
3 Sept 32.7 °C 30 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
4 Sept 37.3 °C 25 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
5 Sept 39.0 °C 18 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
6 Sept 39.4 °C 10 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
7 Sept 36.2 °C 22 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
8 Sept 32.4 °C 38 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
9 Sept 38.8 °C 22 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
10 Sept 39.6 °C 20 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
11 Sept 40.4 °C 15 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
12 Sept 40.0 °C 17 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
13 Sept 40.5 °C 14 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
14 Sept 39.0 °C 19 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
15 Sept 33.2 °C 37 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
16 Sept 38.8 °C 22 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
17 Sept 38.0 °C 24 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
18 Sept 36.8 °C 27 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
19 Sept 37.9 °C 26 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
20 Sept 31.7 °C 44 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
21 Sept 28.4 °C 42 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
22 Sept 29.6 °C 45 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
23 Sept 36.7 °C 30 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
24 Sept 39.8 °C 23 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
25 Sept 41.1 °C 21 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
26 Sept 39.8 °C 26 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
27 Sept 39.4 °C 24 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
28 Sept 36.6 °C 38 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
29 Sept 40.0 °C 18 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
30 Sept 42.1 °C 13 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
1 Oct 41.8 °C 18 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
2 Oct 40.2 °C 24 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
3 Oct 41.8 °C 15 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
4 Oct 39.8 °C 19 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
5 Oct 41.5 °C 21 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
6 Oct 41.7 °C 19 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
7 Oct 40.5 °C 24 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
8 Oct 42.8 °C 18 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
9 Oct 42.6 °C 20 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
10 Oct 40.8 °C 23 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
11 Oct 37.8 °C 32 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
12 Oct 37.2 °C 33 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
13 Oct 40.2 °C 27 % 30 km/h 0.5 mm Very high 38
14 Oct 39.3 °C 30 % 42 km/h 0.2 mm Very high 45
15 Oct 34.5 °C 42 % 36 km/h 11.0 mm Low 8
16 Oct 34.4 °C 46 % 21 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 18
17 Oct 38.3 °C 32 % 23 km/h 0.6 mm High 28
18 Oct 36.4 °C 32 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
19 Oct 35.4 °C 38 % 39 km/h 2.5 mm Moderate 18
20 Oct 35.0 °C 46 % 26 km/h 1.8 mm Moderate 13
21 Oct after 34.6 °C 41 % 30 km/h 0.1 mm High 24
22 Oct after 37.7 °C 33 % 22 km/h 0.5 mm High 27
23 Oct after 33.8 °C 50 % 23 km/h 2.8 mm Low 9

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 10 Aug 2020
After · 27 Oct 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 · 6,940Every 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 Poconé fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 17 August 2020 to 20 October 2020 (65 days). The perimeter dates it from 23 August 2020 to 13 October 2020.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 78,512 hectares (785.1 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Cáceres (50,948 ha, 2.1 %); Poconé (28,167 ha, 1.6 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 42.8 °C, humidity dropped to 10 % and gusts hit 53 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 60, 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.

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.

No changes since 24 October 2026.

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. 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; 3 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 23 August 2020 to 13 October 2020. 6,940 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 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.