San Pablo Coatlán fire, April 2019
San Pablo Coatlán, Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz
Out · last detection 28 Apr 2019, 19:35 UTC
The fire started on 23 April 2019 in San Pablo Coatlán, Mexico, and satellites saw it burning for 6 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 2,827 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.
It is the 59th largest in Oaxaca since 2016 (of 185 with a page). Number 151 in Mexico in 2019, of 363.
matches the official recordwith caveatssatellite onlymodel
When copying, the sentence is
Tick the figures you want: they make up the lede and the CSV.
Burned area
with caveats
2,827ha
Perimeter published by GWIS (Copernicus).
This page2,827CONAFOR1,568
Source
GWIS (Copernicus)
Date
23 Apr 2019 – 28 Apr 2019
+− cross-check
CONAFOR: 1,568 ha (matched records: 1). Difference between the page and the official record: +80.3%. Matched on 8 November 2026. The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
Duration by satellite
satellite only
6days
23 Apr 2019 to 28 Apr 2019: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 28 Apr 2019, 19:35 UTC
+− cross-check
Satellites pass a few times a day and cloud or smoke can hide the fire: a lack of detections is not an official extinction. Each country’s emergency service declares a fire contained or out.
Start
satellite only
23 Apr 2019
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
23 Apr 2019
+− cross-check
The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
Hotspots
satellite only
133
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 102 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
23 Apr 2019 – 28 Apr 2019
+− cross-check
There is no official record to compare with. Each hotspot is a pixel detected in one satellite pass, not a separate fire.
The worst day
satellite only
1,531MW
Total radiative power on 25 April 2019; hotspots that day: 57.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
25 Apr 2019
+− cross-check
Fire radiative power (FRP) measures the energy the fire gives off when the satellite passes. Added up by day, it compares intensity, not area.
Danger at the start
model
25.1FWI · high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 13.
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
28.6°C · 33% RH
High of 28.6 °C and minimum humidity of 33% on 23 April 2019; gusts of 44 km/h on 24 April 2019.
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
≈ 150people
Estimated residents inside the perimeter and 1.8 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 CONAFOR record
Nearby records with very different figures: 1,568 ha (records: 1).
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
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 area1.8ha
Residents≈ 150
Inside the perimeter there were about 1.8 hectares of built-up land and about 150 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 CONAFOR, this fire started on 23 April 2019 and burned 1,568 ha (the satellite measured 2,827 ha). The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
San Pablo CoatlánSan Pablo Coatlán23 April 20191,568 ha· extinguished on 27 April 2019· cause: negligence
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)
23 Apr
28.6 °C
33 %
32 km/h
0.3 mm
High 25
24 Apr
27.6 °C
39 %
44 km/h
0.0 mm
High 28
25 Apr
27.1 °C
28 %
39 km/h
0.0 mm
High 28
26 Apr
27.8 °C
38 %
38 km/h
0.0 mm
High 23
27 Apr
28.3 °C
27 %
35 km/h
0.0 mm
High 24
28 Apr
28.4 °C
32 %
35 km/h
0.8 mm
High 26
29 Apr after
29.7 °C
29 %
36 km/h
0.8 mm
High 22
30 Apr after
28.0 °C
30 %
35 km/h
0.5 mm
Moderate 19
1 May after
27.3 °C
33 %
34 km/h
0.6 mm
Moderate 19
2 May after
27.3 °C
42 %
32 km/h
2.7 mm
High 23
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 25.1, a minimum humidity of 33% and 13 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 26.
FWI at the start25.1
Minimum humidity33 %
Days without rain13
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · San Pablo Coatlán fire, April 2019
2,827 ha6 daysFWI 25.1Min. humidity 33 %
Magdalena Tequisistlán fire, May 2023
1,541 ha8 daysFWI 24.9Min. humidity 37 %122 km away, in 2023
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 7.8 mm on 17 May.
It was 1.5 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 6 days, against 8 days.
Only 6 of its 26 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 2 of 26, 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 4.2 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
2.7 mmfirst rain
2 May4 days after it ended
44km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 28 Apr, and on 2 May 2.7 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 24 of 26, with a median of 4.2 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.
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 23 April 2019 and 28 April 2019: 6 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 2,827 hectares (28.3 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: San Pablo Coatlán (2,843 ha, 15 %); Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz (1 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 28.6 °C, humidity dropped to 27 % and gusts hit 44 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 28, class High.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Mexico (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: 26. Their median duration was 8 days and their median area 1,832 ha; 100 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 6 of its 26 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 2 of 26, 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 4.2 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: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery.
Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 133 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with CONAFOR: 1,568 official ha against 2,827 ha of perimeter; similar, but with reservations.
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 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 (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.