The fire started on 12 May 2024 in Tizimín, Mexico, and satellites saw it burning for 16 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 1,772 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.
It is the 10th largest in Yucatán since 2016 (of 15 with a page). Number 231 in Mexico in 2024, of 289.
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
1,772ha
Perimeter published by GWIS (Copernicus).
This page1,772CONAFOR965
Source
GWIS (Copernicus)
Date
12 May 2024 – 27 May 2024
+− cross-check
CONAFOR: 965 ha (matched records: 1). Difference between the page and the official record: +83.7%. 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
16days
12 May 2024 to 27 May 2024: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 27 May 2024, 19:37 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
12 May 2024
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
12 May 2024
+− 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
186
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 106 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
12 May 2024 – 27 May 2024
+− 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
512MW
Total radiative power on 18 May 2024; hotspots that day: 29.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
18 May 2024
+− 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
46.3FWI · very high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 17.
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
38.8°C · 35% RH
High of 38.8 °C and minimum humidity of 35% on 16 May 2024; gusts of 60 km/h on 13 May 2024.
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.
ⓘ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
· reconstructedweather
Weather and FWI computed from the ERA5 reanalysis
· reconstructedofficial
Matched with the official CONAFOR record
Nearby records with very different figures: 965 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 2025
Built-up area0.18ha
Residents< 20
Inside the perimeter there were about 0.18 hectares of built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2025, 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. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.
According to CONAFOR, this fire started on 13 May 2024 and burned 965 ha (the satellite measured 1,772 ha). The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
TizimínEjido nuevo mundo13 May 2024965 ha· extinguished on 2 June 2024· 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)
12 May
37.4 °C
38 %
49 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 46
13 May
38.2 °C
34 %
60 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 65
14 May
37.0 °C
42 %
56 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 55
15 May
38.5 °C
37 %
48 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 45
16 May
38.8 °C
35 %
51 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 54
17 May
38.7 °C
39 %
58 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 63
18 May
37.7 °C
40 %
55 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 62
19 May
38.5 °C
36 %
45 km/h
0.0 mm
High 35
20 May
38.7 °C
34 %
37 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 41
21 May
37.8 °C
34 %
34 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 40
22 May
35.2 °C
46 %
32 km/h
0.3 mm
Very high 40
23 May
37.5 °C
35 %
41 km/h
0.1 mm
Very high 43
24 May
37.4 °C
36 %
46 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 49
25 May
37.3 °C
36 %
45 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 50
26 May
37.6 °C
36 %
46 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 52
27 May
38.3 °C
38 %
46 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 47
28 May after
36.3 °C
43 %
50 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 44
29 May after
34.3 °C
51 %
43 km/h
0.9 mm
Very high 42
30 May after
36.0 °C
44 %
38 km/h
0.0 mm
High 33
31 May after
36.8 °C
43 %
47 km/h
0.8 mm
Very high 42
1 Jun after
36.3 °C
43 %
45 km/h
0.2 mm
Very high 38
2 Jun after
35.1 °C
48 %
47 km/h
0.1 mm
High 35
3 Jun after
35.0 °C
47 %
45 km/h
1.5 mm
High 33
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 46.3, a minimum humidity of 38% and 17 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 4.
FWI at the start46.3
Minimum humidity38 %
Days without rain17
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Tizimín fire, 12 May 2024
1,772 ha16 daysFWI 46.3Min. humidity 38 %
Río Lagartos fire, April 2017
2,133 ha2 daysFWI 41.0Min. humidity 40 %46 km away, in 2017
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.
Fires in the area that started in similar weather: 4. With fewer than 15 we give no figures: they would be more noise than signal.
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
1.5 mmfirst rain
3 Jun7 days after it ended
60km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 27 May, and on 3 Jun 1.5 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out.
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.
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
↔
Before · 5 May 2024
After · 3 Jun 2024
Sentinel-2 did not pass over on that day. Try another date, or use false colour, which is daily.
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 19 May 2024 the air beside the fire reached 146 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 36: 2.4 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
PM2.5 peak146µg/m³
Days over the guideline7days
PM10212µg/m³
Optical depth0.52
WHO 15
11 May15 May19 May23 May27 May
GoodFairModeratePoorVery poorExtremely 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· 186Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.›
⬇ Download CSVTimes in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 12 May 2024 to 27 May 2024 (16 days). The perimeter dates it from 13 May 2024 to 26 May 2024.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 1,772 hectares (17.7 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Tizimín (1,783 ha, 0.5 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 38.8 °C, humidity dropped to 34 % and gusts hit 60 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 65, class Extreme.
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.
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 adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 13 May 2024 to 26 May 2024. 186 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with CONAFOR: 965 official ha against 1,772 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 2025, 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.