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Quiaios fire, October 2017 Tocha, Mira, Bom Sucesso

Out · last detection 1 Nov 2017, 02:56 UTC

The fire started on 15 October 2017 in Quiaios, Portugal, and satellites saw it burning for 17 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 24,183 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 25 municipalities. According to ICNF, the largest of the 6 recorded fires was detected on 15 October 2017 at 14:36 and declared extinguished on 17 October 2017.

Number 6 in Portugal in 2017, of 210.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Cantanhede · 2017Anadia · 2016Águeda · 2016Oliveira de Azeméis · 2022

Burnt area
24,183ha
Copernicus perimeter
Duration
17days
15 Oct 2017 – 31 Oct 2017
Municipalities hit
25
freguesias
Started on
15 Oct
2017
Heat detections
90
in a single hotspot: 217 MW
Danger at start
38
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
292MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 15 Oct31 Oct
1 Nov 2017

How it evolved, day by day

15 Oct 2017 · 4,239 MW · 52 16 Oct 2017 · 15 MW · 2 17 Oct 2017 · 50 MW · 6 18 Oct 2017 · 25 MW · 5 22 Oct 2017 · 3 MW · 3 23 Oct 2017 · 13 MW · 4 24 Oct 2017 · 6 MW · 3 25 Oct 2017 · 8 MW · 3 26 Oct 2017 · 3 MW · 2 27 Oct 2017 · 2 MW · 1 28 Oct 2017 · 1 MW · 1 29 Oct 2017 · 1 MW · 2 30 Oct 2017 · 1 MW · 1 31 Oct 2017 · 0 MW · 1 1 Nov 2017 · 6 MW · 4
15 Oct 18 Oct 24 Oct 27 Oct 30 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

31°high
54km/h · peak gust
26%lowest humidity

It had gone 46 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 10.6 mm on 2 Nov.

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 15% of the area of London (242 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. Tocha 3,709 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    5,974 ha
    76 %
  2. Mira 6,958 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    5,535 ha reached on 17 Oct
    88 %
  3. Bom Sucesso 1,832 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    3,150 ha reached on 15 Oct
    52 %
  4. Requeixo, Nossa Senhora de Fátima e Nariz 4,383 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    1,711 ha
    53 %
  5. Quiaios 912 inhabitants · 2.6 km from the centre where it started
    1,004 ha reached on 15 Oct
    19 %
  6. Sosa 2,817 inhabitants · 0.9 km from the centre
    973 ha
    45 %
  7. Ouca 1,750 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    743 ha
    45 %
  8. Seixo 1,253 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    734 ha reached on 17 Oct
    45 %
  9. Calvão 2,186 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the centre
    682 ha
    46 %
  10. União das Freguesias de Fonte de Angeão e Covão do Lobo 1,179 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    488 ha
    28 %
  11. União das Freguesias de Ponte de Vagos e Santa Catarina 991 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    485 ha
    37 %
  12. Palhaça 2,667 inhabitants · 0.6 km from the centre
    465 ha
    46 %
  13. Praia de Mira 3,247 inhabitants · 3.2 km from the centre
    396 ha
    9.9 %
  14. Oiã 7,864 inhabitants · 1.6 km from the centre
    390 ha
    15 %
  15. Carapelhos 656 inhabitants · fire reached the centre
    348 ha
    79 %
  16. Santo André de Vagos 2,046 inhabitants · 1.1 km from the centre
    345 ha reached on 15 Oct
    27 %
  17. Eixo e Eirol 6,190 inhabitants · 2.1 km from the centre
    147 ha
    6.5 %
  18. Vilamar e Corticeiro de Cima 1,363 inhabitants · 1.0 km from the centre
    138 ha
    12 %
  19. Bustos, Troviscal e Mamarrosa 6,221 inhabitants · 3.4 km from the centre
    121 ha
    4.2 %
  20. União das Freguesias de Vagos e Santo António 4,606 inhabitants · 1.8 km from the centre
    103 ha reached on 15 Oct
    3.3 %
  21. Oliveirinha 4,675 inhabitants · 2.1 km from the centre
    99 ha
    8.1 %
  22. Gafanha da Boa Hora 2,850 inhabitants · 4.4 km from the centre
    85 ha
    2.3 %
  23. Fermentelos 3,028 inhabitants · 3.0 km from the centre
    53 ha
    6.1 %
  24. Sanguinheira 1,753 inhabitants · 3.0 km from the centre
    39 ha
    1.5 %
  25. São Caetano 724 inhabitants · 2.6 km from the centre
    0 ha
    0.0 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the official 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.

What burned

  • Coniferous forest36 %
  • Scrub and transitional woodland23 %
  • Agricultural areas19 %
  • Mixed forest13 %
  • Artificial surfaces4.7 %
  • Broadleaved forest2.4 %
  • Other natural land0.7 %
  • Other land cover0.5 %

Natura 2000 protected area affected: 46 %

Natura 2000 sites (European Environment Agency, 2024 release) crossed by the perimeter.

Land cover inside the perimeter according to Corine Land Cover, as reported by Copernicus.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2015
Built-up area430 ha
Residents≈ 13,000

Inside the perimeter there were about 430 hectares of built-up land and about 13,000 residents (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

Official record

Complex of 6 fires according to ICNF

According to ICNF, 6 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 21,280 ha (the satellite measured 24,183 ha).

ICNF records each fire that started at a different time or place separately; the satellite sees a single burned area, so this page groups them together. The numbers on the map show where each one started.

When each one burned

1 244 ha 2 19,026 ha 3 363 ha 4 1,575 ha 5 57 ha 6 16 ha
15 Oct21 Oct
cause unknown or not published arson rekindling
  1. 1 Vagos Santo André de Vagos 15 October 2017 · 13:34 244 ha · extinguished on 21 October 2017 · cause: unknown
  2. 2 Figueira da Foz Quiaios 15 October 2017 · 14:36 19,026 ha · extinguished on 17 October 2017 · cause: arson
  3. 3 Oliveira do Bairro Oiã 15 October 2017 · 15:59 363 ha · extinguished on 18 October 2017 · cause: unknown
  4. 4 Aveiro Nariz 15 October 2017 · 16:44 1,575 ha · extinguished on 15 October 2017 · cause: unknown
  5. 5 Vagos Sosa 15 October 2017 · 23:57 57 ha · extinguished on 16 October 2017 · cause: rekindling
  6. 6 Vagos Sosa 16 October 2017 · 19:32 16 ha · extinguished on 16 October 2017 · cause: rekindling

Total according to ICNF: 21,280 ha, 88 % of the 24,183 ha in the satellite perimeter.

ICNF (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas). This is the agency’s operational record: its figures may be revised when the year’s statistics are closed.

Checked against the press

Checked on 29 September 2026

We checked this page against 4 sources published once the fire was out. This is what they add:

Also known as
Incêndio de Quiaios · Incêndio de Mira · Incêndio da Mata Nacional de Quiaios
According to the sources, several fires that ended up merging:
  • Quiaios (Mata Nacional) 15 October 2017
  • Mira 15 October 2017
  • Vagos / Ílhavo (Aveiro) 15 October 2017

Sources

Official figures are measured differently from satellite ones and sometimes cover only part of the fire.

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)
15 Oct 30.7 °C 26 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
16 Oct 22.2 °C 59 % 54 km/h 6.9 mm Very low 4
17 Oct 19.6 °C 62 % 39 km/h 20.7 mm Very low 0
18 Oct 17.7 °C 71 % 31 km/h 6.2 mm Very low 0
19 Oct 18.8 °C 81 % 27 km/h 1.9 mm Very low 0
20 Oct 19.8 °C 94 % 27 km/h 6.0 mm Very low 0
21 Oct 18.2 °C 67 % 37 km/h 1.3 mm Very low 0
22 Oct 18.5 °C 55 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 1
23 Oct 21.4 °C 52 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very low 2
24 Oct 24.8 °C 38 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 6
25 Oct 24.2 °C 49 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
26 Oct 24.8 °C 53 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
27 Oct 27.9 °C 42 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
28 Oct 25.5 °C 40 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 11
29 Oct 23.2 °C 41 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 11
30 Oct 22.3 °C 47 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
31 Oct 22.8 °C 42 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
1 Nov after 21.2 °C 57 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 13
2 Nov after 17.9 °C 86 % 40 km/h 10.6 mm Very low 0

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 8 Oct 2017
After · 7 Nov 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.

The smoke

CAMS · Copernicus

On 16 October 2017 the air beside the fire reached 268 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 145: 9.7 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak268 µg/m³
Days over the guideline8 days
PM10468 µg/m³
131415161718192021222324252627282930311234
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 · 90Every 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 Portugal ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Quiaios fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 15 October 2017 to 31 October 2017 (17 days). The perimeter dates it from 15 October 2017 to 24 October 2017. According to ICNF, the largest of the 6 recorded fires was detected on 15 October 2017 at 14:36 and declared extinguished on 17 October 2017.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 24,183 hectares (241.8 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 25 municipalities: Tocha (5,974 ha, 76 %); Mira (5,535 ha, 88 %); Bom Sucesso (3,150 ha, 52 %); Requeixo, Nossa Senhora de Fátima e Nariz (1,711 ha, 53 %); Quiaios (1,004 ha, 19 %); Sosa (973 ha, 45 %); Ouca (743 ha, 45 %); Seixo (734 ha, 45 %); Calvão (682 ha, 46 %); União das Freguesias de Fonte de Angeão e Covão do Lobo (488 ha, 28 %); União das Freguesias de Ponte de Vagos e Santa Catarina (485 ha, 37 %); Palhaça (465 ha, 46 %).
Did the fire reach a town?
The fire reached the centre of Mira: the point marking it was inside the burnt area or less than 500 metres from it. That does not mean houses burned.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 30.7 °C, humidity dropped to 26 % and gusts hit 54 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 38, class Very high.
Where does this data come from?
From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Portugal (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: 112 · 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 112.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: EFFIS (Copernicus), mapped on satellite imagery.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 15 October 2017 to 24 October 2017. 90 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • Compared with ICNF: 21,280 official ha against 24,183 ha of perimeter; they agree within 25%.
  • Checked against news and agencies: 4 confirmed sources.
  • 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 and land cover come from the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), measured on MODIS and Sentinel-2 imagery and published under CC BY 4.0. 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 (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from each country’s official figure.