Victoria fire, 17 July 2022 Victoria, Gualeguay
The fire started on 17 July 2022 in Victoria, Argentina, and satellites saw it burning for 51 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 37,864 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.
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:
- 13,460 haVictoria3 September 2022 · 15 days
- 9,567 haGualeguay2 September 2022 · 18 days
- 9,418 haVictoria11 August 2022 · 14 days
- 7,272 haVictoria3 September 2022 · 15 days
- 6,377 haVictoria19 August 2022 · 18 days
- 3,084 haVictoria9 July 2022 · 11 days
- 2,043 haVictoria19 August 2022 · 5 days
- 1,832 haVictoria7 August 2022 · 1 day
It is the largest fire in Buenos Aires since 2016 (of 210 with a page). Number 6 in Argentina in 2022, of 442.
Compare with…
- Burnt area
- 37,864ha
- GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
- Duration
- 51days
- 17 Jul 2022 – 5 Sept 2022
- Municipalities hit
- 2
- departments
- Started on
- 17 Jul
- 2022
- Heat detections
- 2,457
- in a single hotspot: 520 MW
- Danger at start
- 8
- Low · FWI index
- Average daily power
- 1.3GW
- detected power per day, on average
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.
This area had burned before
89% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 35,481 ha in 2020, 13,903 ha in 2021. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 33,743 ha that had burned before.
- 9,849 ha Victoria fire, August 2020 26,759 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 7,520 ha Victoria fire, August 2021 9,455 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 4,798 ha Victoria fire, July 2020 11,462 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 4,090 ha Victoria fire, July 2020 9,616 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 3,993 ha Victoria fire, July 2021 4,966 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 3,470 ha Victoria fire, August 2020 2,577 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 3,427 ha Victoria fire, August 2020 5,997 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,636 ha Victoria fire, July 2020 1,704 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
How big is it?
London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Paris boundary: geoBoundaries · Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN-F) (Etalab Open License 2.0).
Madrid boundary: geoBoundaries · Open Data ESRI, IGN Central Registry of Cartography Area (CC BY 4.0).
Berlin boundary: geoBoundaries · Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (dl-de/by-2-0).
This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.
What happened to each town
-
Victoria where it started38,071 ha reached on 17 Jul5.7 %
-
50 ha0.0 %
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 2020Inside the perimeter there were about 0.14 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jul | 14.7 °C | 42 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 18 Jul | 17.9 °C | 43 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 19 Jul | 18.6 °C | 44 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 20 Jul | 20.7 °C | 53 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 21 Jul | 19.3 °C | 51 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 22 Jul | 20.6 °C | 56 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 23 Jul | 23.0 °C | 66 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 7 |
| 24 Jul | 24.6 °C | 63 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 25 Jul | 22.7 °C | 74 % | 28 km/h | 4.3 mm | Very low 1 |
| 26 Jul | 26.8 °C | 60 % | 23 km/h | 0.2 mm | Very low 2 |
| 27 Jul | 21.9 °C | 78 % | 33 km/h | 3.3 mm | Very low 0 |
| 28 Jul | 16.5 °C | 41 % | 48 km/h | 0.1 mm | Very low 3 |
| 29 Jul | 19.4 °C | 30 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 7 |
| 30 Jul | 21.4 °C | 31 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 31 Jul | 21.3 °C | 41 % | 17 km/h | 0.7 mm | Low 7 |
| 1 Aug | 20.9 °C | 45 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 2 Aug | 19.1 °C | 54 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 3 Aug | 15.4 °C | 69 % | 36 km/h | 0.6 mm | Low 6 |
| 4 Aug | 14.6 °C | 54 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 8 |
| 5 Aug | 19.0 °C | 34 % | 15 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 6 Aug | 16.7 °C | 44 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 7 Aug | 16.3 °C | 49 % | 46 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 8 Aug | 12.2 °C | 64 % | 33 km/h | 4.8 mm | Very low 0 |
| 9 Aug | 15.9 °C | 55 % | 29 km/h | 1.6 mm | Very low 1 |
| 10 Aug | 16.8 °C | 47 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 3 |
| 11 Aug | 19.5 °C | 44 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 7 |
| 12 Aug | 21.4 °C | 44 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 13 Aug | 24.5 °C | 40 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 11 |
| 14 Aug | 26.5 °C | 50 % | 34 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 15 Aug | 18.8 °C | 28 % | 54 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 16 Aug | 21.2 °C | 19 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 17 Aug | 15.1 °C | 32 % | 46 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 18 Aug | 13.8 °C | 29 % | 49 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 19 Aug | 18.1 °C | 21 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 20 Aug | 19.0 °C | 26 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 21 Aug | 19.5 °C | 29 % | 17 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 22 Aug | 19.1 °C | 38 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 23 Aug | 23.5 °C | 39 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 24 Aug | 27.0 °C | 42 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 25 Aug | 24.9 °C | 57 % | 20 km/h | 1.4 mm | Very low 5 |
| 26 Aug | 26.9 °C | 55 % | 49 km/h | 0.3 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 27 Aug | 19.7 °C | 33 % | 48 km/h | 18.1 mm | Very low 2 |
| 28 Aug | 13.9 °C | 30 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 4 |
| 29 Aug | 17.5 °C | 33 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 7 |
| 30 Aug | 19.3 °C | 38 % | 29 km/h | 0.3 mm | Low 9 |
| 31 Aug | 24.9 °C | 44 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 1 Sept | 20.1 °C | 71 % | 28 km/h | 0.5 mm | Low 8 |
| 2 Sept | 18.1 °C | 29 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 3 Sept | 20.1 °C | 27 % | 18 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 4 Sept | 22.2 °C | 24 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 5 Sept | 23.1 °C | 25 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 6 Sept after | 23.2 °C | 41 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 7 Sept after | 27.2 °C | 25 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 8 Sept after | 24.4 °C | 46 % | 60 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 25 |
| 9 Sept after | 15.5 °C | 35 % | 49 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 10 Sept after | 19.9 °C | 21 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 11 Sept after | 18.9 °C | 28 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 12 Sept after | 21.0 °C | 25 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 17 |
| 13 Sept after | 22.9 °C | 30 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 14 Sept after | 23.4 °C | 33 % | 22 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 20 |
| 15 Sept after | 23.7 °C | 28 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
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 · 2,457Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
- 11,462 haVictoria25 July 2020 · 13 days · 15 km away
- 22,089 haVictoria10 August 2020 · 19 days · 18 km away
- 26,851 haGualeguay25 July 2020 · 13 days · 24 km away
- 26,759 haVictoria10 August 2020 · 21 days · 27 km away
- 13,460 haVictoria3 September 2022 · 15 days · 30 km away
- 12,278 haVictoria26 July 2020 · 12 days · 39 km away
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Victoria fire last?
- According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 17 July 2022 to 5 September 2022 (51 days). The perimeter dates it from 17 July 2022 to 29 August 2022.
- How much area did it burn?
- The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 37,864 hectares (378.6 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 2 municipalities: Victoria (38,071 ha, 5.7 %); Gualeguay (50 ha, 0.0 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 27.0 °C, humidity dropped to 19 % and gusts hit 54 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 19, class Moderate.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Argentina (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: 911 · 100 · Emergency number and official warnings ›
Satellite cross-check
History of this page · 1 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
- Last day with fire: 29 August 2022 → 5 September 2022.
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
How we know this
- Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 5 polygons grouped in this page.
- Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 17 July 2022 to 29 August 2022. 2,457 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.
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 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). 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.