Vieira do Minho fire, 7 August 2016
Louredo, Salamonde, Cantelães
Out · last detection 11 Aug 2016, 14:01 UTC
The fire started on 7 August 2016 in Louredo, Portugal, and satellites saw it burning for 5 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 122 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 3 freguesias.
It is the 11th largest in Vieira do Minho since 2016 (of 11 with a page). Number 159 in Portugal in 2016, of 180.
The power measured by the satellite is low (8.8 MW in the strongest hotspot), more typical of grass or stubble burning, or a slow surface fire, than of a large crown fire.
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
122ha
Perimeter published by EFFIS (Copernicus).
This page122ICNF160
Source
EFFIS (Copernicus)
Date
perimeter revised on 26 January 2022
+− cross-check
ICNF: 160 ha (matched records: 2). Difference between the page and the official record: −23.8%. Matched on 1 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
5days
7 Aug 2016 to 11 Aug 2016: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
EFFIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 11 Aug 2016, 14:01 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
7 Aug 2016
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
EFFIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
7 Aug 2016
+− 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
10
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 9 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
7 Aug 2016 – 11 Aug 2016
+− 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
25MW
Total radiative power on 11 August 2016; hotspots that day: 10.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
11 Aug 2016
+− 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
51.0FWI · extreme
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 2.
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
33.7°C · 21% RH
High of 33.7 °C and minimum humidity of 21% on 7 August 2016; gusts of 53 km/h on 10 August 2016.
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 ICNF record
Nearby records with very different figures: 160 ha (records: 2).
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 freguesia, from crossing the official 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.
What burned
Other natural land98 %
Mixed forest2.4 %
Land cover inside the perimeter according to Corine Land Cover, as reported by Copernicus.
Official record
Several official records match this area
According to ICNF, 2 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 160 ha (the satellite measured 122 ha). The two figures differ a lot, so these may not be exactly the same fire: take them as nearby records.
ICNF 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)
7 Aug
33.7 °C
21 %
45 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 51
8 Aug
33.4 °C
22 %
41 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 43
9 Aug
26.2 °C
41 %
49 km/h
0.0 mm
High 32
10 Aug
25.7 °C
24 %
53 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 46
11 Aug
26.1 °C
23 %
46 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 48
12 Aug after
28.1 °C
27 %
30 km/h
0.0 mm
High 31
13 Aug after
27.6 °C
22 %
31 km/h
0.0 mm
High 35
14 Aug after
27.9 °C
32 %
30 km/h
0.3 mm
High 34
15 Aug after
26.2 °C
42 %
34 km/h
0.4 mm
High 31
16 Aug after
23.2 °C
44 %
38 km/h
0.0 mm
High 32
17 Aug after
21.6 °C
62 %
41 km/h
1.7 mm
Low 11
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 51.0, a minimum humidity of 21% and 2 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 25.
FWI at the start51.0
Minimum humidity21 %
Days without rain2
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Vieira do Minho fire, 7 August 2016
122 ha5 daysFWI 51.0Min. humidity 21 %
Murça fire, July 2022
7,641 ha5 daysFWI 50.8Min. humidity 21 %58 km away, in 2022
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.
It stayed below its twins: 122 ha against a median of 775 ha. It lasted 5 days, against 2 days.
In 17 of 25, 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 7.8 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
1.7 mmfirst rain
17 Aug6 days after it ended
53km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 11 Aug, and on 17 Aug 1.7 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 8 of 25, with a median of 7.8 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 · 31 Jul 2016
After · 18 Aug 2016
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 13 August 2016 the air beside the fire reached 42 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 31: 2.1 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
PM2.5 peak42µg/m³
Days over the guideline4days
PM1055µg/m³
WHO 15
8 Aug10 Aug12 Aug14 Aug
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· 10Every 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 7 August 2016 to 11 August 2016 (5 days). The perimeter dates it from 10 August 2016 to 11 August 2016.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 122 hectares (1.2 km²). Official national figures may differ.
Which freguesias burned?
The fire entered 3 freguesias: Louredo (67 ha, 8.7 %); Salamonde (50 ha, 6.0 %); Cantelães (5 ha, 0.4 %).
Did the fire reach a town?
The fire started in Louredo and came within 1.1 km of its centre. That is the distance from the perimeter, or the nearest hotspot, to the point marking the centre; it does not mean it entered the houses.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 33.7 °C, humidity dropped to 21 % and gusts hit 53 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 51, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Portugal (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: 25. Their median duration was 2 days and their median area 775 ha; 44 % went past 1,000 ha. In 17 of 25, 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 7.8 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: EFFIS (Copernicus), mapped on satellite imagery.
Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 10 August 2016 to 11 August 2016. 10 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with ICNF: 160 official ha against 122 ha of perimeter; similar, but with reservations.
Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
The perimeter and land cover come from the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), measured on MODIS and Sentinel-2 imagery and published under CC BY 4.0. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Freguesia boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication). The area per freguesia is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from each country’s official figure.