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Walcha fire, October 2019 Mid-Coast, Walcha, Port Macquarie-Hastings

Out · last detection 10 Jan 2020, 15:07 UTC

The fire started on 18 October 2019 in Walcha, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 85 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 207,639 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 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.

It is the 5th largest in New South Wales since 2016 (of 130 with a page). Number 9 in Australia in 2019, of 802.

Burnt area
207,639ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
85days
18 Oct 2019 – 10 Jan 2020
Municipalities hit
3
local government areas
Started on
18 Oct
2019
Heat detections
34,124
in a single hotspot: 752 MW
Danger at start
16
Moderate · FWI index
Energy released
304.8GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

10 Jan 2020
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 18 Oct10 Jan

How it evolved, day by day

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

The weather it burned in

39°high
108km/h · peak gust
9%lowest humidity

It had gone 4 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 4.3 mm on 11 Jan.

This area had burned before

14% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 17,370 ha in 2016, 9,881 ha in 2017, 3,187 ha in 2018. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 28,988 ha that had burned before.

What happened to each town

  1. Mid-Coast
    154,496 ha reached on 17 Oct
    15 %
  2. Walcha where it started
    49,448 ha reached on 8 Nov
    7.9 %
  3. Port Macquarie-Hastings
    3,778 ha reached on 24 Oct
    1.0 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance is from the town centre to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

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)
18 Oct 23.6 °C 16 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 16
19 Oct 24.6 °C 16 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
20 Oct 20.4 °C 31 % 41 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 15
21 Oct 21.8 °C 33 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
22 Oct 24.3 °C 33 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
23 Oct 26.9 °C 22 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
24 Oct 27.6 °C 22 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 18
25 Oct 29.6 °C 20 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
26 Oct 30.7 °C 20 % 85 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
27 Oct 23.9 °C 27 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
28 Oct 23.4 °C 35 % 44 km/h 0.9 mm Moderate 13
29 Oct 26.9 °C 29 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
30 Oct 27.8 °C 26 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
31 Oct 27.3 °C 30 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
1 Nov 27.2 °C 29 % 56 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
2 Nov 28.1 °C 29 % 59 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
3 Nov 29.5 °C 29 % 42 km/h 0.7 mm Moderate 21
4 Nov 25.5 °C 32 % 59 km/h 1.4 mm Moderate 14
5 Nov 15.9 °C 49 % 58 km/h 9.5 mm Very low 1
6 Nov 25.4 °C 18 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Low 10
7 Nov 29.6 °C 15 % 70 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
8 Nov 28.3 °C 14 % 65 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
9 Nov 19.3 °C 17 % 57 km/h 1.1 mm Moderate 18
10 Nov 24.4 °C 25 % 57 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
11 Nov 27.2 °C 18 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
12 Nov 31.6 °C 12 % 62 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
13 Nov 25.5 °C 9 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
14 Nov 27.1 °C 18 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
15 Nov 29.9 °C 14 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
16 Nov 25.0 °C 30 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
17 Nov 26.2 °C 20 % 64 km/h 0.3 mm High 32
18 Nov 28.5 °C 21 % 53 km/h 0.1 mm High 30
19 Nov 31.7 °C 14 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
20 Nov 26.0 °C 36 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
21 Nov 31.9 °C 31 % 61 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
22 Nov 35.9 °C 16 % 53 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
23 Nov 30.8 °C 36 % 37 km/h 2.5 mm Low 9
24 Nov 21.3 °C 76 % 30 km/h 4.0 mm Very low 1
25 Nov 27.9 °C 34 % 46 km/h 2.0 mm Very low 4
26 Nov 31.1 °C 27 % 74 km/h 0.5 mm High 23
27 Nov 24.9 °C 29 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
28 Nov 30.1 °C 28 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
29 Nov 32.2 °C 24 % 48 km/h 1.5 mm Moderate 21
30 Nov 31.5 °C 27 % 60 km/h 0.3 mm High 29
1 Dec 25.3 °C 36 % 63 km/h 2.6 mm Low 9
2 Dec 20.0 °C 33 % 108 km/h 0.5 mm High 24
3 Dec 26.7 °C 19 % 54 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
4 Dec 28.5 °C 15 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
5 Dec 30.6 °C 17 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
6 Dec 32.6 °C 12 % 58 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
7 Dec 29.2 °C 29 % 43 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
8 Dec 28.2 °C 38 % 46 km/h 0.1 mm High 26
9 Dec 31.7 °C 34 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
10 Dec 37.0 °C 16 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
11 Dec 29.7 °C 46 % 37 km/h 0.3 mm High 23
12 Dec 23.5 °C 60 % 36 km/h 1.6 mm Low 7
13 Dec 21.0 °C 68 % 29 km/h 5.2 mm Very low 1
14 Dec 28.8 °C 34 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Low 8
15 Dec 31.9 °C 26 % 43 km/h 0.1 mm High 22
16 Dec 25.6 °C 26 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm High 25
17 Dec 25.7 °C 41 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 20
18 Dec 30.2 °C 24 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
19 Dec 37.5 °C 16 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
20 Dec 30.2 °C 39 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
21 Dec 37.6 °C 19 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
22 Dec 22.3 °C 66 % 53 km/h 2.5 mm Very low 5
23 Dec 22.8 °C 71 % 35 km/h 0.6 mm Very low 5
24 Dec 28.6 °C 46 % 48 km/h 5.8 mm Very low 4
25 Dec 23.8 °C 65 % 41 km/h 4.1 mm Very low 1
26 Dec 28.1 °C 34 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Low 7
27 Dec 29.0 °C 30 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 17
28 Dec 31.4 °C 23 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
29 Dec 35.2 °C 18 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
30 Dec 35.2 °C 18 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
31 Dec 36.4 °C 17 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
1 Jan 34.6 °C 32 % 39 km/h 0.1 mm High 25
2 Jan 30.2 °C 50 % 42 km/h 0.4 mm Moderate 18
3 Jan 34.0 °C 33 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 22
4 Jan 38.9 °C 19 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
5 Jan 32.9 °C 38 % 46 km/h 0.8 mm Moderate 21
6 Jan 27.6 °C 50 % 42 km/h 3.1 mm Very low 5
7 Jan 31.2 °C 41 % 37 km/h 0.3 mm Moderate 13
8 Jan 33.8 °C 33 % 46 km/h 0.5 mm High 22
9 Jan 24.5 °C 76 % 41 km/h 5.2 mm Very low 1
10 Jan 35.4 °C 27 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 14
11 Jan after 26.9 °C 40 % 44 km/h 4.3 mm Very low 3

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 11 Oct 2019
After · 17 Jan 2020

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 · 34,124Every 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 Walcha fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 18 October 2019 and 10 January 2020: 85 days between the first and last heat detection of the perimeter.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 207,639 hectares (2,076.4 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Mid-Coast (154,496 ha, 15 %); Walcha (49,448 ha, 7.9 %); Port Macquarie-Hastings (3,778 ha, 1.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 38.9 °C, humidity dropped to 9 % and gusts hit 108 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 39, class Very high.
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

Satellite cross-check

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.

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.