Skip to content
worldfires
en
AU · Australia · →

Wollondilly fire, November 2019 Wollondilly, Oberon, Wingecarribee

Out · last detection 15 Jan 2020, 15:13 UTC

The fire started on 22 November 2019 in Wollondilly, Australia, and satellites saw it burning for 55 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 322,078 hectares from heat detections, spread across 6 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 4th largest in New South Wales since 2016 (of 130 with a page). Number 6 in Australia in 2019, of 802.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Wingecarribee · 2019Blue Mountains · 2020

Burnt area
322,078ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
55days
22 Nov 2019 – 15 Jan 2020
Municipalities hit
6
local government areas
Started on
22 Nov
2019
Heat detections
34,041
in a single hotspot: 737 MW
Danger at start
26
High · FWI index
Average daily power
8.3GW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 22 Nov15 Jan
15 Jan 2020

How it evolved, day by day

22 Nov 2019 · 4 MW · 2 23 Nov 2019 · 17 MW · 2 26 Nov 2019 · 17 MW · 12 27 Nov 2019 · 530 MW · 55 28 Nov 2019 · 2,489 MW · 70 29 Nov 2019 · 6,828 MW · 429 30 Nov 2019 · 5,366 MW · 247 1 Dec 2019 · 19,853 MW · 1277 2 Dec 2019 · 5,117 MW · 1008 3 Dec 2019 · 17,367 MW · 1090 4 Dec 2019 · 26,356 MW · 1720 5 Dec 2019 · 42,813 MW · 2080 6 Dec 2019 · 31,608 MW · 2289 7 Dec 2019 · 10,172 MW · 1126 8 Dec 2019 · 3,644 MW · 303 9 Dec 2019 · 10,638 MW · 1123 10 Dec 2019 · 2,695 MW · 1082 11 Dec 2019 · 4,300 MW · 265 12 Dec 2019 · 2,015 MW · 171 13 Dec 2019 · 548 MW · 162 14 Dec 2019 · 12,472 MW · 954 15 Dec 2019 · 5,664 MW · 1469 16 Dec 2019 · 11,386 MW · 599 17 Dec 2019 · 5,758 MW · 1286 18 Dec 2019 · 10,029 MW · 1217 19 Dec 2019 · 5,381 MW · 1282 20 Dec 2019 · 11,435 MW · 1241 21 Dec 2019 · 29,233 MW · 1210 22 Dec 2019 · 17 MW · 10 23 Dec 2019 · 1,283 MW · 140 24 Dec 2019 · 816 MW · 112 25 Dec 2019 · 1,194 MW · 395 26 Dec 2019 · 3,338 MW · 706 27 Dec 2019 · 10,610 MW · 962 28 Dec 2019 · 12,793 MW · 1614 29 Dec 2019 · 3,352 MW · 679 30 Dec 2019 · 19,777 MW · 1112 31 Dec 2019 · 29,261 MW · 1640 1 Jan 2020 · 4,059 MW · 183 2 Jan 2020 · 4,208 MW · 227 3 Jan 2020 · 3,932 MW · 489 4 Jan 2020 · 22,444 MW · 1566 5 Jan 2020 · 4,274 MW · 158 7 Jan 2020 · 413 MW · 35 8 Jan 2020 · 70 MW · 6 10 Jan 2020 · 1,057 MW · 209 11 Jan 2020 · 4 MW · 1 14 Jan 2020 · 165 MW · 24 15 Jan 2020 · 42 MW · 2
22 Nov 1 Dec 5 Dec 8 Dec 15 Dec 22 Dec 29 Dec 5 Jan

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

The weather it burned in

40°high
99km/h · peak gust
11%lowest humidity

It had gone 4 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 20.7 mm on 16 Jan.

This area had burned before

6% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,472 ha in 2016, 6,265 ha in 2017, 12,414 ha in 2018.

How big is it?

20 km
It burned the equivalent of 2.0 times the area of London (3,221 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. Wollondilly where it started
    156,347 ha reached on 22 Nov
    61 %
  2. Oberon
    74,085 ha reached on 26 Nov
    20 %
  3. Wingecarribee
    44,488 ha reached on 12 Dec
    17 %
  4. Blue Mountains
    24,444 ha reached on 28 Nov
    17 %
  5. Upper Lachlan
    23,065 ha reached on 10 Dec
    3.2 %
  6. Lithgow
    447 ha reached on 23 Dec
    0.1 %

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 2020
Built-up area52 ha
Residents≈ 950

Inside the perimeter there were about 52 hectares of built-up land and about 950 residents (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)
22 Nov 30.8 °C 37 % 36 km/h 0.1 mm High 26
23 Nov 28.5 °C 46 % 42 km/h 1.6 mm Low 10
24 Nov 24.6 °C 58 % 31 km/h 0.7 mm Low 10
25 Nov 29.6 °C 40 % 39 km/h 4.8 mm Very low 5
26 Nov 29.8 °C 27 % 99 km/h 2.0 mm High 22
27 Nov 26.9 °C 23 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
28 Nov 30.4 °C 22 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
29 Nov 32.6 °C 11 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
30 Nov 28.3 °C 29 % 59 km/h 0.6 mm High 35
1 Dec 25.3 °C 21 % 67 km/h 0.1 mm High 37
2 Dec 17.0 °C 42 % 84 km/h 0.8 mm High 23
3 Dec 23.9 °C 32 % 65 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
4 Dec 25.6 °C 24 % 64 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
5 Dec 29.3 °C 16 % 67 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
6 Dec 27.5 °C 19 % 65 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
7 Dec 27.6 °C 20 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
8 Dec 27.0 °C 42 % 45 km/h 1.9 mm Moderate 13
9 Dec 31.0 °C 38 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 21
10 Dec 37.7 °C 15 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
11 Dec 29.5 °C 33 % 44 km/h 0.1 mm High 34
12 Dec 27.4 °C 34 % 43 km/h 0.5 mm High 32
13 Dec 26.1 °C 36 % 37 km/h 0.8 mm High 22
14 Dec 29.0 °C 30 % 55 km/h 0.4 mm High 28
15 Dec 29.8 °C 26 % 58 km/h 1.7 mm High 26
16 Dec 29.0 °C 30 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
17 Dec 28.0 °C 41 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
18 Dec 32.6 °C 30 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm High 30
19 Dec 36.8 °C 16 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
20 Dec 31.4 °C 33 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
21 Dec 39.4 °C 19 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
22 Dec 23.3 °C 48 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 26
23 Dec 28.0 °C 42 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 27
24 Dec 26.7 °C 57 % 38 km/h 4.7 mm Very low 5
25 Dec 26.8 °C 53 % 42 km/h 4.4 mm Very low 4
26 Dec 30.6 °C 39 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 15
27 Dec 31.7 °C 36 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 23
28 Dec 35.1 °C 25 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
29 Dec 35.5 °C 22 % 34 km/h 0.1 mm High 31
30 Dec 36.8 °C 21 % 34 km/h 0.5 mm High 34
31 Dec 37.3 °C 15 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
1 Jan 32.2 °C 35 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
2 Jan 30.7 °C 42 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
3 Jan 34.7 °C 36 % 40 km/h 0.3 mm High 28
4 Jan 40.4 °C 19 % 55 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
5 Jan 28.0 °C 43 % 52 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
6 Jan 24.2 °C 62 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 19
7 Jan 33.7 °C 37 % 32 km/h 3.3 mm Low 10
8 Jan 30.4 °C 49 % 36 km/h 0.6 mm Moderate 14
9 Jan 25.1 °C 66 % 35 km/h 0.1 mm Moderate 14
10 Jan 36.5 °C 26 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 29
11 Jan 27.1 °C 54 % 46 km/h 0.8 mm Moderate 17
12 Jan 19.1 °C 74 % 39 km/h 8.1 mm Very low 0
13 Jan 25.0 °C 51 % 35 km/h 1.9 mm Very low 4
14 Jan 29.8 °C 42 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Moderate 12
15 Jan 29.3 °C 44 % 31 km/h 0.2 mm Moderate 16
16 Jan after 27.4 °C 63 % 37 km/h 20.7 mm Very low 0

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 15 Nov 2019
After · 22 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 · 34,041Every 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 Wollondilly fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 22 November 2019 to 15 January 2020 (55 days). The perimeter dates it from 26 November 2019 to 10 January 2020.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 322,078 hectares (3,220.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 6 municipalities: Wollondilly (156,347 ha, 61 %); Oberon (74,085 ha, 20 %); Wingecarribee (44,488 ha, 17 %); Blue Mountains (24,444 ha, 17 %); Upper Lachlan (23,065 ha, 3.2 %); Lithgow (447 ha, 0.1 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 40.4 °C, humidity dropped to 11 % and gusts hit 99 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 49, 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 · 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: 10 January 2020 → 15 January 2020.
  2. Start date: 26 November 2019 → 22 November 2019.

RSS Changes to this page

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; 2 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 26 November 2019 to 10 January 2020. 34,041 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.

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.