Villa Hidalgo fire, June 2017
Villa Hidalgo, Nacozari de García, Cumpas
Out · last detection 1 Jul 2017, 21:08 UTC
The fire started on 9 June 2017 in Villa Hidalgo, Mexico, and satellites saw it burning for 23 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 19,286 hectares from heat detections, spread across 4 municipalities.
It is the 2th largest in Sonora since 2016 (of 82 with a page). Number 5 in Mexico in 2017, of 374.
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
19,286ha
Perimeter published by GWIS (Copernicus).
This page19,286CONAFOR36,711
Source
GWIS (Copernicus)
Date
9 Jun 2017 – 1 Jul 2017
+− cross-check
CONAFOR: 36,711 ha (matched records: 5). Difference between the page and the official record: −47.5%. 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
23days
9 Jun 2017 to 1 Jul 2017: first and last day with fire on the page.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
last detection: 1 Jul 2017, 21:08 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
9 Jun 2017
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
Source
GWIS (Copernicus) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
Date
9 Jun 2017
+− 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
1,077
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 149 MW.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP)
Date
9 Jun 2017 – 1 Jul 2017
+− 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
2,612MW
Total radiative power on 16 June 2017; hotspots that day: 133.
Source
NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
Date
16 Jun 2017
+− 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
31.7FWI · high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 0.
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
41.4°C · 9% RH
High of 41.4 °C and minimum humidity of 9% on 19 June 2017; gusts of 54 km/h on 11 June 2017.
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
≈ 20people
Estimated residents inside the perimeter and 1.2 ha of built-up area (100 m grid, epoch 2015).
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: 36,711 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 2015
Built-up area1.2ha
Residents≈ 20
Inside the perimeter there were about 1.2 hectares of built-up land and about 20 residents (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.
According to CONAFOR, 5 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 36,711 ha (the satellite measured 19,286 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)
9 Jun
34.2 °C
18 %
36 km/h
0.0 mm
High 32
10 Jun
34.0 °C
11 %
51 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 66
11 Jun
32.0 °C
18 %
54 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 69
12 Jun
33.1 °C
16 %
42 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 58
13 Jun
35.4 °C
10 %
31 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 50
14 Jun
37.7 °C
8 %
36 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 53
15 Jun
38.2 °C
7 %
35 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 60
16 Jun
37.5 °C
9 %
41 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 64
17 Jun
37.2 °C
10 %
28 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 57
18 Jun
38.9 °C
11 %
36 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 51
19 Jun
41.4 °C
9 %
24 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 50
20 Jun
40.5 °C
15 %
38 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 53
21 Jun
39.8 °C
14 %
49 km/h
0.2 mm
Extreme 53
22 Jun
36.6 °C
21 %
42 km/h
0.3 mm
Very high 47
23 Jun
38.5 °C
15 %
36 km/h
0.4 mm
Very high 41
24 Jun
39.1 °C
15 %
48 km/h
0.8 mm
Very high 39
25 Jun
35.6 °C
23 %
44 km/h
1.1 mm
High 33
26 Jun
35.7 °C
17 %
43 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 40
27 Jun
34.8 °C
24 %
41 km/h
2.5 mm
High 33
28 Jun
34.2 °C
21 %
38 km/h
0.0 mm
High 22
29 Jun
35.2 °C
16 %
41 km/h
0.0 mm
Very high 43
30 Jun
37.1 °C
10 %
36 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 52
1 Jul
37.5 °C
12 %
38 km/h
0.0 mm
Extreme 56
2 Jul after
34.4 °C
26 %
37 km/h
9.4 mm
Very high 45
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 31.7, a minimum humidity of 18% and rain the day before. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 19.
FWI at the start31.7
Minimum humidity18 %
Days without rain0
this firechosen twinsrest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Villa Hidalgo fire, June 2017
19,286 ha23 daysFWI 31.7Min. humidity 18 %
Madera fire, May 2023
3,517 ha21 daysFWI 27.1Min. humidity 18 %95 km away, in 2023
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.
It was 9.1 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 23 days, against 7 days.
Only 1 of its 19 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 9 of 19, 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 2.6 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
9.4 mmfirst rain
2 Julthe day after it ended
54km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 1 Jul, and on 2 Jul 9.4 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 10 of 19, with a median of 2.6 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.
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 9 June 2017 to 1 July 2017 (23 days). The perimeter dates it from 9 June 2017 to 25 June 2017.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 19,286 hectares (192.9 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 4 municipalities: Villa Hidalgo (13,002 ha, 8.8 %); Nacozari de García (3,412 ha, 2.0 %); Cumpas (2,512 ha, 1.2 %); Huásabas (414 ha, 0.5 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 41.4 °C, humidity dropped to 7 % and gusts hit 54 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 69, 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: 19. Their median duration was 7 days and their median area 2,116 ha; 79 % went past 1,000 ha. Only 1 of its 19 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 9 of 19, 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 2.6 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 9 June 2017 to 25 June 2017. 1,077 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
Compared with CONAFOR: 36,711 official ha against 19,286 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 2015, 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.