Tilin fire, February 2019 Tilin, Matupi, Gangaw
The fire started on 14 February 2019 in Tilin, Myanmar (Burma), and satellites saw it burning for 11 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 11,583 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 municipalities.
It is the 9th largest in Magway since 2016 (of 189 with a page). Number 8 in Myanmar (Burma) in 2019, of 141.
The power measured by the satellite is low (19.5 MW in the strongest hotspot), more typical of grass or stubble burning, or a slow surface fire, than of a large crown fire.
- Burnt area
- 11,583ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 11days
- 14 Feb 2019 – 24 Feb 2019
- Municipalities hit
- 3
- municipalities
- Started on
- 14 Feb
- 2019
- Heat detections
- 514
- in a single hotspot: 20 MW
- Danger at start
- 13
- Moderate · FWI index
- Energy released
- 1.3GW
- sum of detected power
Where it burned
How it evolved, day by day
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
It had gone 15 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 2.2 mm on 25 Feb.
This area had burned before
67% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 5,246 ha in 2016, 3,751 ha in 2017. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 7,804 ha that had burned before.
- 3,022 ha Gangaw fire, February 2016 4,326 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 2,224 ha Matupi fire, March 2016 3,153 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,603 ha Matupi fire, February 2017 3,544 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,229 ha Tilin fire, February 2017 2,001 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
What happened to each town
-
Tilin where it started5,821 ha reached on 10 Feb4.4 %
-
4,539 ha reached on 10 Feb0.8 %
-
1,288 ha reached on 16 Feb0.5 %
Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance is from the town centre to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.
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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Feb | 31.3 °C | 44 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 15 Feb | 31.4 °C | 43 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 16 Feb | 31.6 °C | 50 % | 25 km/h | 0.9 mm | Low 10 |
| 17 Feb | 29.3 °C | 36 % | 42 km/h | 0.7 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 18 Feb | 29.3 °C | 41 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 19 Feb | 30.1 °C | 45 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 20 Feb | 32.1 °C | 31 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 21 Feb | 30.6 °C | 41 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 22 Feb | 33.0 °C | 34 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 23 Feb | 34.3 °C | 34 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 24 Feb | 34.5 °C | 33 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 25 Feb after | 29.8 °C | 40 % | 29 km/h | 2.2 mm | Low 8 |
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
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 · 514Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Tilin fire last?
- GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 14 February 2019 and 24 February 2019: 11 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 11,583 hectares (115.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 3 municipalities: Tilin (5,821 ha, 4.4 %); Matupi (4,539 ha, 0.8 %); Gangaw (1,288 ha, 0.5 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 34.5 °C, humidity dropped to 31 % and gusts hit 42 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 22, class High.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Myanmar (Burma) (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.
Satellite cross-check
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
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 ADM3 (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.