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Roper Gulf fire, 25 August 2018 Roper Gulf

Out · last detection 13 Nov 2018, 15:35 UTC

The fire started on 25 August 2018 in Roper Gulf, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 81 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 169,883 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 17th largest in Northern Territory since 2016 (of 3517 with a page). Number 4 in Australia in 2018, of 923.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Roper Gulf · 2022Roper Gulf · 2018Roper Gulf · 2026Roper Gulf · 2023

Burnt area
169,883ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
81days
25 Aug 2018 – 13 Nov 2018
Municipalities hit
1
local government areas
Started on
25 Aug
2018
Heat detections
6,493
in a single hotspot: 275 MW
Danger at start
44
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
959MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 25 Aug13 Nov
13 Nov 2018

How it evolved, day by day

25 Aug 2018 · 46 MW · 3 27 Aug 2018 · 188 MW · 12 28 Aug 2018 · 654 MW · 46 29 Aug 2018 · 1,768 MW · 98 30 Aug 2018 · 1,465 MW · 90 31 Aug 2018 · 44 MW · 5 1 Sept 2018 · 13 MW · 5 2 Sept 2018 · 227 MW · 20 3 Sept 2018 · 1,789 MW · 93 4 Sept 2018 · 1,577 MW · 103 5 Sept 2018 · 1,642 MW · 88 6 Sept 2018 · 746 MW · 48 7 Sept 2018 · 329 MW · 47 8 Sept 2018 · 112 MW · 21 9 Sept 2018 · 2,393 MW · 211 10 Sept 2018 · 5,903 MW · 190 11 Sept 2018 · 3,903 MW · 244 12 Sept 2018 · 1,586 MW · 98 13 Sept 2018 · 636 MW · 105 14 Sept 2018 · 264 MW · 50 15 Sept 2018 · 1,953 MW · 78 16 Sept 2018 · 1,990 MW · 104 17 Sept 2018 · 403 MW · 54 18 Sept 2018 · 510 MW · 72 19 Sept 2018 · 210 MW · 34 20 Sept 2018 · 415 MW · 52 21 Sept 2018 · 5,721 MW · 326 22 Sept 2018 · 4,389 MW · 178 23 Sept 2018 · 2,255 MW · 247 24 Sept 2018 · 2,237 MW · 154 25 Sept 2018 · 2,232 MW · 223 26 Sept 2018 · 1,106 MW · 114 27 Sept 2018 · 1,293 MW · 119 28 Sept 2018 · 645 MW · 99 29 Sept 2018 · 564 MW · 133 30 Sept 2018 · 905 MW · 102 1 Oct 2018 · 615 MW · 85 2 Oct 2018 · 358 MW · 44 3 Oct 2018 · 330 MW · 56 4 Oct 2018 · 994 MW · 91 5 Oct 2018 · 386 MW · 63 6 Oct 2018 · 951 MW · 93 7 Oct 2018 · 911 MW · 66 8 Oct 2018 · 609 MW · 57 9 Oct 2018 · 500 MW · 64 10 Oct 2018 · 551 MW · 83 11 Oct 2018 · 1,081 MW · 169 12 Oct 2018 · 2,008 MW · 210 13 Oct 2018 · 567 MW · 68 14 Oct 2018 · 466 MW · 89 15 Oct 2018 · 632 MW · 118 16 Oct 2018 · 616 MW · 65 18 Oct 2018 · 714 MW · 29 19 Oct 2018 · 108 MW · 16 20 Oct 2018 · 180 MW · 31 21 Oct 2018 · 7 MW · 5 23 Oct 2018 · 229 MW · 31 24 Oct 2018 · 164 MW · 22 25 Oct 2018 · 607 MW · 108 26 Oct 2018 · 257 MW · 40 27 Oct 2018 · 403 MW · 38 28 Oct 2018 · 399 MW · 56 29 Oct 2018 · 573 MW · 53 30 Oct 2018 · 417 MW · 72 31 Oct 2018 · 532 MW · 103 1 Nov 2018 · 715 MW · 93 2 Nov 2018 · 338 MW · 56 3 Nov 2018 · 4 MW · 3 4 Nov 2018 · 248 MW · 46 5 Nov 2018 · 297 MW · 58 6 Nov 2018 · 530 MW · 69 7 Nov 2018 · 828 MW · 54 8 Nov 2018 · 433 MW · 72 9 Nov 2018 · 596 MW · 68 10 Nov 2018 · 857 MW · 95 11 Nov 2018 · 342 MW · 46 12 Nov 2018 · 778 MW · 67 13 Nov 2018 · 557 MW · 75
25 Aug 7 Sept 10 Sept 19 Sept 1 Oct 13 Oct 27 Oct 8 Nov

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
57km/h · peak gust
7%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 14 Nov.

This area had burned before

4% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,256 ha in 2016, 6,502 ha in 2017.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned almost the same area as London (1,699 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. Roper Gulf where it started
    171,090 ha reached on 25 Aug
    0.9 %

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 area0.30 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there were about 0.30 hectares of 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)
25 Aug 31.9 °C 31 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
26 Aug 30.9 °C 24 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
27 Aug 32.1 °C 12 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
28 Aug 31.4 °C 11 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
29 Aug 32.7 °C 10 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
30 Aug 32.1 °C 24 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
31 Aug 33.5 °C 35 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
1 Sept 33.2 °C 35 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
2 Sept 34.1 °C 25 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
3 Sept 32.6 °C 19 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
4 Sept 33.2 °C 14 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
5 Sept 31.9 °C 14 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
6 Sept 34.3 °C 15 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
7 Sept 32.6 °C 29 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
8 Sept 32.7 °C 37 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
9 Sept 33.9 °C 17 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
10 Sept 33.0 °C 8 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
11 Sept 33.1 °C 10 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
12 Sept 31.9 °C 31 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
13 Sept 33.3 °C 21 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
14 Sept 33.2 °C 23 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
15 Sept 34.7 °C 20 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
16 Sept 34.2 °C 17 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
17 Sept 33.3 °C 12 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
18 Sept 34.6 °C 14 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
19 Sept 31.9 °C 28 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
20 Sept 32.1 °C 17 % 57 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
21 Sept 34.2 °C 11 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
22 Sept 34.4 °C 7 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 67
23 Sept 34.4 °C 22 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
24 Sept 33.5 °C 21 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
25 Sept 33.8 °C 19 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
26 Sept 32.5 °C 27 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
27 Sept 32.1 °C 32 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
28 Sept 31.8 °C 33 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
29 Sept 31.9 °C 31 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
30 Sept 32.4 °C 31 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
1 Oct 32.6 °C 30 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
2 Oct 33.1 °C 32 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
3 Oct 33.8 °C 30 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
4 Oct 35.2 °C 24 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
5 Oct 35.4 °C 29 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
6 Oct 35.5 °C 20 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
7 Oct 35.7 °C 18 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
8 Oct 35.9 °C 26 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
9 Oct 35.0 °C 31 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
10 Oct 36.1 °C 29 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
11 Oct 34.8 °C 34 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
12 Oct 35.2 °C 31 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
13 Oct 37.8 °C 21 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
14 Oct 37.8 °C 25 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
15 Oct 36.5 °C 26 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
16 Oct 34.5 °C 43 % 39 km/h 0.7 mm High 32
17 Oct 31.4 °C 58 % 30 km/h 7.0 mm Low 6
18 Oct 35.0 °C 32 % 37 km/h 0.2 mm High 28
19 Oct 36.2 °C 26 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
20 Oct 36.9 °C 25 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
21 Oct 36.2 °C 31 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
22 Oct 38.0 °C 26 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
23 Oct 38.4 °C 22 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
24 Oct 36.6 °C 35 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
25 Oct 36.0 °C 32 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
26 Oct 37.0 °C 30 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
27 Oct 37.1 °C 19 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
28 Oct 37.2 °C 25 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
29 Oct 37.6 °C 29 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
30 Oct 37.3 °C 34 % 43 km/h 0.5 mm Very high 44
31 Oct 36.2 °C 39 % 46 km/h 1.2 mm High 33
1 Nov 35.3 °C 40 % 44 km/h 1.1 mm High 30
2 Nov 35.5 °C 40 % 45 km/h 1.3 mm High 29
3 Nov 34.6 °C 45 % 42 km/h 0.5 mm High 31
4 Nov 35.4 °C 37 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
5 Nov 37.1 °C 30 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
6 Nov 37.0 °C 30 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
7 Nov 38.2 °C 25 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
8 Nov 34.6 °C 39 % 48 km/h 0.5 mm Very high 42
9 Nov 38.4 °C 18 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
10 Nov 38.4 °C 23 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
11 Nov 37.5 °C 32 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
12 Nov 36.2 °C 39 % 48 km/h 0.8 mm High 38
13 Nov 35.7 °C 39 % 48 km/h 0.7 mm High 36
14 Nov after 35.4 °C 40 % 39 km/h 1.0 mm High 30

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 18 Aug 2018
After · 20 Nov 2018

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 · 6,493Every 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 Australia ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Roper Gulf fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 25 August 2018 to 13 November 2018 (81 days). The perimeter dates it from 27 August 2018 to 6 November 2018.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 169,883 hectares (1,698.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Roper Gulf (171,090 ha, 0.9 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 38.4 °C, humidity dropped to 7 % and gusts hit 57 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 67, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Australia (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: 000 · Emergency number and official warnings ›

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: 6 November 2018 → 13 November 2018.
  2. Start date: 27 August 2018 → 25 August 2018.

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 000.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 8 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 27 August 2018 to 6 November 2018. 6,493 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 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 from each country’s official figure.