The fire started on 6 April 2024 in Tonalá, Mexico, and satellites saw it burning for 14 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 4,368 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.
It is the 30th largest in Chiapas since 2016 (of 246 with a page). Number 65 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
4,368ha
Perimeter published by GWIS (Copernicus).
This page4,368CONAFOR2,468
Source
GWIS (Copernicus)
Date
6 Apr 2024 – 19 Apr 2024
+− cross-check
CONAFOR: 2,468 ha (matched records: 5). Difference between the page and the official record: +77.0%. 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
14days
6 Apr 2024 to 19 Apr 2024: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 19 Apr 2024, 19:49 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
6 Apr 2024
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
6 Apr 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
319
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 122 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
6 Apr 2024 – 19 Apr 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
2,547MW
Total radiative power on 13 April 2024; hotspots that day: 159.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
13 Apr 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
36.6FWI · high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 47.
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
39.8°C · 33% RH
High of 39.8 °C and minimum humidity of 33% on 14 April 2024; gusts of 77 km/h on 11 April 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.
Living inside
model
≈ 350people
Estimated residents inside the perimeter and 2.9 ha of built-up area (100 m grid, epoch 2025).
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: 2,468 ha (records: 5).
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 area2.9ha
Residents≈ 350
Inside the perimeter there were about 2.9 hectares of built-up land and about 350 residents (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, 5 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 2,468 ha (the satellite measured 4,368 ha). The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
CONAFOR 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.
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)
6 Apr
38.0 °C
40 %
36 km/h
0.5 mm
High 37
7 Apr
37.2 °C
42 %
43 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 41
8 Apr
37.0 °C
43 %
44 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 41
9 Apr
36.8 °C
41 %
52 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 44
10 Apr
36.6 °C
40 %
51 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 45
11 Apr
36.9 °C
29 %
77 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 52
12 Apr
37.5 °C
32 %
68 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 53
13 Apr
37.6 °C
36 %
54 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 48
14 Apr
39.8 °C
33 %
43 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 40
15 Apr
39.3 °C
33 %
41 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 41
16 Apr
37.3 °C
38 %
45 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 47
17 Apr
36.8 °C
41 %
43 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 46
18 Apr
37.5 °C
38 %
41 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 43
19 Apr
37.7 °C
41 %
38 km/h
1.1 mm
Very high 39
20 Apr after
37.0 °C
46 %
43 km/h
0.5 mm
High 34
21 Apr after
36.1 °C
52 %
42 km/h
9.0 mm
High 33
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 36.6, a minimum humidity of 40% and 47 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 18.
FWI at the start36.6
Minimum humidity40 %
Days without rain47
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Tonalá fire, April 2024
4,368 ha14 daysFWI 36.6Min. humidity 40 %
Villa Corzo fire, March 2022
1,641 ha15 daysFWI 40.0Min. humidity 40 %3 km away, in 2022
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.
It was 1.9 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 14 days, against 13 days.
Only 2 of its 18 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 6 of 18, 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 1.6 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
9.0 mmfirst rain
21 Apr2 days after it ended
77km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 19 Apr, and on 21 Apr 9.0 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 12 of 18, with a median of 1.6 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.
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
↔
Before · 30 Mar 2024
After · 26 Apr 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 15 April 2024 the air beside the fire reached 187 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 104: 6.9 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
PM2.5 peak187µg/m³
Days over the guideline8days
PM10267µg/m³
Optical depth2.83
WHO 15
10 Apr13 Apr16 Apr19 Apr22 Apr
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· 319Every 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 6 April 2024 to 19 April 2024 (14 days). The perimeter dates it from 12 April 2024 to 19 April 2024.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 4,368 hectares (43.7 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Tonalá (4,371 ha, 2.3 %); Villa Corzo (21 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 39.8 °C, humidity dropped to 29 % and gusts hit 77 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 53, 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.
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: 18. Their median duration was 13 days and their median area 2,248 ha; 100 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 2 of its 18 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 6 of 18, 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 1.6 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 adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 12 April 2024 to 19 April 2024. 319 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with CONAFOR: 2,468 official ha against 4,368 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.