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AU · Australia · –

Victoria Daly fire, 2 May 2017 Victoria Daly

Out · last detection 2 Jul 2017, 16:31 UTC

The fire started on 2 May 2017 in Victoria Daly, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 62 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 63,362 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.

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.

This entry is probably a savanna fire in Australia’s tropical north, not a bushfire like those in the south of the country. Millions of hectares of northern savanna and grassland burn every year: much of it in burns lit on purpose early in the dry season (traditional fire management, parks and cattle stations), the rest in grass fires that return to the same ground every few years. This is our assumption, based on the location; it is not confirmed. That is why it is left out of the wildfire rankings.

Burnt area
63,362ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
62days
2 May 2017 – 2 Jul 2017
Municipalities hit
1
local government areas
Started on
2 May
2017
Heat detections
2,619
in a single hotspot: 98 MW
Danger at start
34
High · FWI index
Average daily power
166MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 2 May2 Jul
2 Jul 2017

How it evolved, day by day

2 May 2017 · 189 MW · 14 3 May 2017 · 28 MW · 5 4 May 2017 · 7 MW · 1 5 May 2017 · 51 MW · 10 6 May 2017 · 13 MW · 3 7 May 2017 · 39 MW · 7 8 May 2017 · 123 MW · 21 9 May 2017 · 197 MW · 33 10 May 2017 · 291 MW · 59 11 May 2017 · 372 MW · 55 12 May 2017 · 213 MW · 32 13 May 2017 · 109 MW · 18 14 May 2017 · 156 MW · 24 15 May 2017 · 190 MW · 47 16 May 2017 · 91 MW · 24 17 May 2017 · 168 MW · 46 18 May 2017 · 128 MW · 33 19 May 2017 · 366 MW · 34 20 May 2017 · 82 MW · 18 21 May 2017 · 5 MW · 1 22 May 2017 · 41 MW · 13 23 May 2017 · 220 MW · 32 24 May 2017 · 19 MW · 6 25 May 2017 · 235 MW · 18 26 May 2017 · 347 MW · 26 27 May 2017 · 76 MW · 16 28 May 2017 · 36 MW · 6 30 May 2017 · 46 MW · 28 31 May 2017 · 109 MW · 50 1 Jun 2017 · 201 MW · 64 2 Jun 2017 · 333 MW · 110 3 Jun 2017 · 220 MW · 62 4 Jun 2017 · 44 MW · 27 5 Jun 2017 · 88 MW · 46 6 Jun 2017 · 219 MW · 80 7 Jun 2017 · 246 MW · 89 8 Jun 2017 · 270 MW · 65 9 Jun 2017 · 192 MW · 73 10 Jun 2017 · 103 MW · 74 11 Jun 2017 · 267 MW · 102 12 Jun 2017 · 221 MW · 82 13 Jun 2017 · 258 MW · 90 14 Jun 2017 · 140 MW · 49 15 Jun 2017 · 290 MW · 47 16 Jun 2017 · 111 MW · 68 17 Jun 2017 · 710 MW · 169 18 Jun 2017 · 75 MW · 52 19 Jun 2017 · 409 MW · 104 20 Jun 2017 · 157 MW · 50 21 Jun 2017 · 136 MW · 55 22 Jun 2017 · 345 MW · 91 23 Jun 2017 · 377 MW · 87 24 Jun 2017 · 143 MW · 34 25 Jun 2017 · 127 MW · 32 26 Jun 2017 · 72 MW · 22 27 Jun 2017 · 136 MW · 35 28 Jun 2017 · 31 MW · 17 29 Jun 2017 · 110 MW · 38 30 Jun 2017 · 93 MW · 14 1 Jul 2017 · 16 MW · 7 2 Jul 2017 · 26 MW · 4
2 May 15 May 28 May 17 Jun

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

34°high
54km/h · peak gust
15%lowest humidity

It had gone 17 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

2% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,546 ha in 2016.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 40% of the area of London (634 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each town

  1. Victoria Daly where it started
    64,584 ha reached on 2 May
    0.4 %

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 2015
Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2015, 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)
2 May 32.8 °C 23 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
3 May 31.4 °C 36 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
4 May 31.6 °C 27 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
5 May 32.6 °C 26 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
6 May 33.0 °C 33 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
7 May 32.4 °C 30 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
8 May 32.0 °C 30 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
9 May 31.2 °C 23 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
10 May 30.4 °C 15 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
11 May 30.1 °C 21 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
12 May 31.1 °C 27 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
13 May 31.1 °C 35 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
14 May 30.9 °C 21 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
15 May 31.0 °C 23 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
16 May 31.4 °C 35 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
17 May 32.7 °C 30 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
18 May 33.6 °C 24 % 18 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
19 May 32.9 °C 21 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
20 May 31.8 °C 33 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
21 May 31.8 °C 41 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
22 May 32.3 °C 44 % 35 km/h 0.2 mm High 33
23 May 33.2 °C 32 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
24 May 32.7 °C 22 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
25 May 31.9 °C 31 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
26 May 31.5 °C 23 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
27 May 31.2 °C 24 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
28 May 30.8 °C 25 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
29 May 31.8 °C 25 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
30 May 30.0 °C 17 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 69
31 May 28.2 °C 19 % 51 km/h 0.1 mm Very extreme 71
1 Jun 27.5 °C 20 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 69
2 Jun 28.8 °C 28 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
3 Jun 29.5 °C 25 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
4 Jun 29.7 °C 32 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
5 Jun 29.9 °C 36 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
6 Jun 28.3 °C 25 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
7 Jun 27.3 °C 20 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
8 Jun 26.2 °C 15 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
9 Jun 25.5 °C 18 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
10 Jun 25.7 °C 18 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
11 Jun 26.2 °C 18 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
12 Jun 26.0 °C 18 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 68
13 Jun 26.7 °C 17 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
14 Jun 28.2 °C 27 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
15 Jun 28.4 °C 25 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
16 Jun 29.2 °C 25 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
17 Jun 30.1 °C 29 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
18 Jun 29.8 °C 29 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
19 Jun 30.3 °C 26 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
20 Jun 30.5 °C 32 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
21 Jun 29.8 °C 30 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
22 Jun 29.9 °C 21 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
23 Jun 30.8 °C 29 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
24 Jun 30.6 °C 29 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
25 Jun 30.0 °C 30 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
26 Jun 29.7 °C 33 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
27 Jun 30.0 °C 34 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
28 Jun 30.2 °C 34 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
29 Jun 29.3 °C 38 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
30 Jun 27.5 °C 31 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
1 Jul 27.9 °C 26 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
2 Jul 30.2 °C 38 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
3 Jul after 31.4 °C 35 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
4 Jul after 33.5 °C 33 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
5 Jul after 32.3 °C 38 % 27 km/h 0.1 mm High 33
6 Jul after 32.8 °C 36 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
7 Jul after 32.0 °C 41 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
8 Jul after 32.2 °C 38 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
9 Jul after 30.1 °C 47 % 20 km/h 0.2 mm High 24
10 Jul after 31.6 °C 35 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
11 Jul after 31.2 °C 36 % 51 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
12 Jul after 31.5 °C 32 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 25 Apr 2017
After · 9 Jul 2017

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 · 2,619Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Australia

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Victoria Daly fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 2 May 2017 to 2 July 2017 (62 days). The perimeter dates it from 4 May 2017 to 1 July 2017.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 63,362 hectares (633.6 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Victoria Daly (64,584 ha, 0.4 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 33.6 °C, humidity dropped to 15 % and gusts hit 54 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 71, class Very extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Australia (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: 000 · Emergency number and official warnings

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 2 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 1 July 2017 → 2 July 2017.
  2. Start date: 4 May 2017 → 2 May 2017.

RSS Changes to this page With cross-checks and a citable version

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
What do you think is wrong?

We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 000.

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 4 May 2017 to 1 July 2017. 2,619 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 2015, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.
  • Probably a vegetation burn: not counted in the totals.

How we build fire pages: methodology

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 4.0 International (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.