Ribas de Sil fire, September 2021
Quiroga, Ribas de Sil, A Pobra do Brollón
Out · last detection 7 Sept 2021, 03:33 UTC
The fire started on 6 September 2021 in Ribas de Sil, Spain, and satellites saw it burning for 2 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 1,792 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 3 municipalities. According to EGIF (MITECO), the largest of the 2 recorded fires was detected on 6 September 2021 at 12:47 and declared extinguished on 14 September 2021.
It is the 3th largest in Lugo since 2016 (of 34 with a page). Number 5 in Spain in 2021, of 120.
This is an index computed from weather model data, not a measurement of the fire nor an official warning. Danger warnings are issued by each country’s authority. Emergency number and official warnings ›
Weather during the fire
model
30.6°C · 30% RH
High of 30.6 °C and minimum humidity of 30% on 6 September 2021; gusts of 68 km/h on 6 September 2021.
These are model values for a cell of about 25 km, not from a weather station: they may differ from what was measured on the ground.
Living inside
model
≈ 30people
Estimated residents inside the perimeter and 0.67 ha of built-up area (100 m grid, epoch 2020).
Source
GHSL R2023A · JRC
Date
calculated on 24 October 2026
+− cross-check
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.
ⓘThis page’s change log has been kept since 24 October 2026: every night what it publishes is compared and the difference is logged. Anything earlier is reconstructed from each source’s date and marked as reconstructed.
Show
· reconstructedofficial
Matched with the official EGIF (MITECO) record
Matches: 1,646 ha in the official record (records: 2).
· reconstructedweather
Weather and FWI computed from the ERA5 reanalysis
· reconstructedGHSL
Population and built-up area computed
· reconstructedpress
Cross-check with press and agencies published
Xunta de Galicia · El Progreso · elDiario.es Galicia
A version keeps the area, dates, name and official record; the area as it was logged (changes under 2% are not logged). The map, hotspots and weather always show today’s data.
Citation
A lede of about 60 words figures only, no adjectives
CSV for this fire ribas-de-sil-2021-09.csv · daily, no individual hotspots
fecha
focos_viirs
frp_mw
tmax_c
tmin_c
hr_min_pct
viento_max_kmh
racha_max_kmh
precip_mm
fwi
clase_fwi
dentro_del_incendio
2021-09-06
19
609
30.6
18.3
30
20
68
0.2
19.9
moderado
1
2021-09-07
94
457
24.4
16.5
57
15.6
51.8
4.4
5.4
bajo
1
2021-09-08
0
0
21.3
15.4
71
13.3
49
2
1.8
muy_bajo
0
It is generated in your browser from this page’s data: one file per fire, aggregated by day and without individual hotspots.
Live widget for your story
It updates itself while the fire is still active and links to this page. Free, with the attribution shown at the bottom.
Sources for this page: EFFIS (Copernicus), NASA FIRMS (VIIRS), EGIF (MITECO), ERA5 (ECMWF/Copernicus C3S) · Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), GHSL (JRC). Open-Meteo.com · How we build fire pages: methodology
Burnt area
1,792ha
Copernicus perimeter
Duration
2days
6 Sept 2021 – 7 Sept 2021
Municipalities hit
3
municipalities
Started on
6 Sept
2021
Heat detections
113
in a single hotspot: 76 MW
Danger at start
20
Moderate · FWI index
Average daily power
533MW
detected power per day, on average
Where it burned
HOTSPOTS BY DAY
6 Sept7 Sept
Play back7 Sept 2021
How it evolved, day by day
6 Sept7 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
31°high
68km/h · peak gust
30%lowest humidity
It had gone 3 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 2.0 mm on 8 Sept.
This area had burned before
No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.
How big is it?
It burned the equivalent of 1.1% of the area of London (18 km² against 1,583 km²).
London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).
It burned the equivalent of 3% of the area of Madrid (18 km² against 604 km²).
Madrid boundary: geoBoundaries · Open Data ESRI, IGN Central Registry of Cartography Area (CC BY 4.0).
It burned the equivalent of 17% of the area of Paris (18 km² against 105 km²).
Paris boundary: geoBoundaries · Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN-F) (Etalab Open License 2.0).
It burned the equivalent of 2% of the area of Berlin (18 km² against 892 km²).
Berlin boundary: geoBoundaries · Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (dl-de/by-2-0).
Fire perimeterLondon
This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.
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.
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 2020
Built-up area0.67ha
Residents≈ 30
Inside the perimeter there were about 0.67 hectares of built-up land and about 30 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.
According to EGIF (MITECO), 2 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 1,646 ha (the satellite measured 1,792 ha).
EGIF (MITECO) 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.
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)
It was 9.1 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 2 days, against 2 days.
Only 2 of its 30 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 5 of 30, 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 4.4 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
2.0 mmfirst rain
8 Septthe day after it ended
68km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 7 Sept, and on 8 Sept 2.0 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 25 of 30, with a median of 4.4 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.
Copernicus dates it between 6 September 2021 and 7 September 2021: 2 days between the first and last image with fire. According to EGIF (MITECO), the largest of the 2 recorded fires was detected on 6 September 2021 at 12:47 and declared extinguished on 14 September 2021.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 1,792 hectares (17.9 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Quiroga (912 ha, 2.9 %); Ribas de Sil (710 ha, 10 %); A Pobra do Brollón (172 ha, 1.0 %).
Did the fire reach a town?
The fire started in Ribas de Sil and came within 3.2 km of its centre. That is the distance from the perimeter, or the nearest hotspot, to the point marking the centre; it does not mean it entered the houses.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 30.6 °C, humidity dropped to 30 % and gusts hit 68 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 20, class Moderate.
Where does this data come from?
From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Spain (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: 30. Their median duration was 2 days and their median area 196 ha; 10 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 2 of its 30 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 5 of 30, 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 4.4 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.
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 errorHow we know this›
Perimeter: EFFIS (Copernicus), mapped on satellite imagery.
Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 113 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with EGIF (MITECO): 1,646 official ha against 1,792 ha of perimeter; they agree within 25%.
Checked against news and agencies: 3 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 2020, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.
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 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)). 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.