Burned area
satellite only12,089ha
Perimeter published by NBAC (NRCan).
- Source
- NBAC (NRCan)
- Date
- 27 May 2023 – 25 Sept 2023
+− cross-check
No official record is matched to this page to compare it with.
CA · Canada · –
Wood Buffalo fire, 27 May 2023 Wood Buffalo
Out · last detection 25 Sept 2023, 09:51 UTC
The fire started on 27 May 2023 in Wood Buffalo, Canada, and satellites saw it burning for 122 days. Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) mapped an official burnt perimeter of 12,089 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across a single census subdivision.
It is the 54th largest in Alberta since 2016 (of 176 with a page). Number 149 in Canada in 2023, of 489.
Use this data
Compare with…
Use this data
Fire page data · version 2026-10-25matches the official recordwith caveatssatellite onlymodel
When copying, the sentence is
Tick the figures you want: they make up the lede and the CSV.
Duration by satellite
satellite only122days
27 May 2023 to 25 Sept 2023: first and last day with fire on the page.
- Source
- NBAC (NRCan) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
- Date
- last detection: 25 Sept 2023, 09:51 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 only27 May 2023
First day with fire seen by the satellites or the perimeter.
- Source
- NBAC (NRCan) · NASA FIRMS · VIIRS
- Date
- 27 May 2023
+− cross-check
No official record is matched to this page, so the alert time and the cause are not known here.
Hotspots
satellite only549
VIIRS detections at 375 m. Most intense hotspot: 316 MW.
- Source
- NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (Suomi NPP + NOAA-20)
- Date
- 27 May 2023 – 25 Sept 2023
+− 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 only5,708MW
Total radiative power on 29 May 2023; hotspots that day: 156.
- Source
- NASA FIRMS · VIIRS (FRP)
- Date
- 29 May 2023
+− 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
model34.2FWI · high
Fire Weather Index (Canadian system) computed by WorldFires for the day the fire started. Consecutive days without rain before: 2.
- Source
- WorldFires calculation (Canadian FWI system)
- Date
- 27 May 2023, local noon
- Model
- ERA5 0,25° (ECMWF · Copernicus C3S) · Open-Meteo.com
+− cross-check
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
model28.2°C · 36% RH
High of 28.2 °C and minimum humidity of 36% on 29 August 2023; gusts of 73 km/h on 19 June 2023.
- Source
- weather model at the fire’s grid cell
- Date
- 27 May 2023 – 25 Sept 2023
- Model
- ERA5 0,25° (ECMWF · Copernicus C3S) · Open-Meteo.com
+− cross-check
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
-
· reconstructed weatherWeather and FWI computed from the ERA5 reanalysis
-
logLast day with fire: 22 September 2023 → 25 September 2023.
-
· reconstructed GHSLPopulation and built-up area computed
What was saved on 25 October 2026
Every night a snapshot of what the page shows is saved. If anything changes, it appears in the list as a log entry.
- Area
- 12,089 ha
- Dates
- 27 May 2023 – 25 Sept 2023
- Name
- Wood Buffalo
- Official record
- —
Versioned permanent link
https://worldfires.org/en/fire/wood-buffalo-2023-05?v=2026-10-25A 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
CSV for this fire wood-buffalo-2023-05.csv · daily, no individual hotspots
| fecha | focos_viirs | frp_mw | tmax_c | tmin_c | hr_min_pct | viento_max_kmh | racha_max_kmh | precip_mm | fwi | clase_fwi | dentro_del_incendio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-05-27 | 0 | 0 | 25.7 | 10.2 | 25 | 20.9 | 50.4 | 0.7 | 34.2 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-05-28 | 81 | 2,193 | 23.2 | 10.2 | 22 | 19.2 | 47.5 | 0 | 35.7 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-05-29 | 156 | 5,708 | 20.8 | 5.4 | 26 | 22.1 | 54 | 0.2 | 39.3 | muy_alto | 1 |
| 2023-05-30 | 84 | 993 | 21.2 | 2.1 | 20 | 16.5 | 35.6 | 0 | 28.6 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-05-31 | 46 | 391 | 22.2 | 5.1 | 28 | 10.6 | 23 | 0.1 | 20.7 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-01 | 1 | 15 | 19.6 | 8 | 29 | 11.9 | 33.1 | 0.2 | 26.4 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-06-02 | 21 | 679 | 21.9 | 6.4 | 30 | 15.2 | 27.4 | 0 | 23.9 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-06-03 | 81 | 2,339 | 24.7 | 8.9 | 27 | 15.6 | 33.1 | 0 | 28.1 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-06-04 | 9 | 11 | 21.1 | 13.5 | 69 | 13.6 | 33.1 | 3.6 | 4.9 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-05 | 0 | 0 | 20.5 | 10.1 | 56 | 16.2 | 37.1 | 8.7 | 2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-06 | 0 | 0 | 19.3 | 6.5 | 32 | 18.9 | 48.2 | 0.3 | 4.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-07 | 0 | 0 | 20.6 | 9.2 | 31 | 23.1 | 56.2 | 0 | 19.3 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-08 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 | 5.7 | 37 | 10.8 | 25.2 | 0 | 12.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-09 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 | 8.7 | 32 | 18.3 | 32.4 | 0 | 18 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-10 | 44 | 2,570 | 27.7 | 14.2 | 29 | 26.1 | 60.8 | 0 | 31.4 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-06-11 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 13.3 | 26 | 19.2 | 48.2 | 2.3 | 14.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-12 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 | 7.4 | 38 | 14.6 | 31.3 | 0.3 | 13.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-13 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 9.8 | 54 | 16.3 | 36.7 | 19.8 | 2.8 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-14 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 | 7.1 | 96 | 24.3 | 44.3 | 25.1 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-15 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 7.5 | 44 | 17.7 | 45.4 | 1.7 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-16 | 0 | 0 | 17.4 | 4.7 | 50 | 18 | 41.8 | 7.1 | 1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-17 | 0 | 0 | 16.1 | 6 | 58 | 18.4 | 50.8 | 9.1 | 0.5 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-18 | 0 | 0 | 16.2 | 4.9 | 57 | 17.1 | 41.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-19 | 0 | 0 | 16.5 | 8.8 | 42 | 31.7 | 73.1 | 3.4 | 5.8 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-20 | 0 | 0 | 15.8 | 6.7 | 35 | 19.1 | 45.7 | 0 | 1.2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-21 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4.3 | 29 | 13.4 | 34.6 | 0 | 5.4 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-22 | 0 | 0 | 19.4 | 7 | 48 | 12.7 | 30.2 | 2.6 | 1.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-23 | 0 | 0 | 25.9 | 8.1 | 24 | 10.9 | 22.7 | 0 | 4.4 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-24 | 0 | 0 | 25.4 | 9.9 | 35 | 17.4 | 42.1 | 3.9 | 15 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-06-25 | 0 | 0 | 21.9 | 7.6 | 32 | 13 | 24.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-26 | 0 | 0 | 21.9 | 11.4 | 57 | 13.6 | 36.4 | 4.8 | 3.2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-27 | 0 | 0 | 25.3 | 9.7 | 38 | 11.1 | 24.5 | 0 | 0.9 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-28 | 0 | 0 | 27.9 | 12.3 | 35 | 11.7 | 28.4 | 2.2 | 8.4 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-29 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 | 14.1 | 48 | 13.6 | 37.4 | 5.4 | 5.8 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-06-30 | 0 | 0 | 25.9 | 11.1 | 29 | 19.3 | 46.4 | 0.7 | 3.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-01 | 0 | 0 | 21.7 | 6.7 | 30 | 10.7 | 30.6 | 1.8 | 7.3 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-02 | 0 | 0 | 14.6 | 10.3 | 76 | 21.2 | 49 | 22.5 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-03 | 0 | 0 | 18.3 | 9.5 | 43 | 26 | 53.3 | 5.7 | 0.2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-04 | 0 | 0 | 21.8 | 5 | 30 | 9.2 | 22.7 | 0 | 0.8 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-05 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 8.8 | 35 | 16.8 | 45 | 1.5 | 10.7 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-06 | 0 | 0 | 20.6 | 9.1 | 37 | 11.5 | 30.6 | 0 | 4.7 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-07 | 0 | 0 | 23.9 | 5.6 | 34 | 12.4 | 30.2 | 0 | 10.8 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-08 | 0 | 0 | 26.3 | 12.3 | 41 | 14.1 | 36.7 | 0 | 15.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-09 | 0 | 0 | 22.9 | 13.2 | 38 | 15.1 | 32 | 0 | 13.8 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-10 | 0 | 0 | 20.6 | 10.6 | 35 | 16.9 | 40.3 | 0 | 17.8 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-11 | 0 | 0 | 25.7 | 11.2 | 34 | 14.7 | 26.3 | 0 | 14.3 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-12 | 0 | 0 | 25.8 | 12 | 27 | 13.6 | 34.6 | 0 | 18.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-13 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 11 | 36 | 19.6 | 47.2 | 0 | 26.9 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-07-14 | 0 | 0 | 21.8 | 10.3 | 38 | 16.9 | 40.3 | 0.4 | 23.1 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-07-15 | 0 | 0 | 21.9 | 10.7 | 41 | 12.6 | 36.4 | 0 | 16.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-16 | 0 | 0 | 23.2 | 10 | 39 | 16.4 | 33.5 | 0.2 | 18.2 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-17 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 12.2 | 64 | 19.3 | 45.7 | 7.1 | 5.4 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-18 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 12.5 | 60 | 10.7 | 20.9 | 1.8 | 0.2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-19 | 0 | 0 | 21.9 | 11.7 | 59 | 6.2 | 23.4 | 1.2 | 1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-20 | 0 | 0 | 23.7 | 9.4 | 48 | 8.2 | 23.4 | 1.1 | 2.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-21 | 0 | 0 | 25.8 | 11 | 37 | 9.6 | 26.3 | 0 | 8.7 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-22 | 0 | 0 | 25.2 | 11.9 | 41 | 10.7 | 25.2 | 0.4 | 12.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-23 | 0 | 0 | 25.1 | 11.5 | 42 | 10.2 | 25.9 | 5.4 | 12.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-24 | 0 | 0 | 24.6 | 12.1 | 45 | 16.3 | 28.4 | 0.5 | 2.6 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-25 | 0 | 0 | 17.9 | 12.9 | 63 | 16.1 | 43.9 | 37.8 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-26 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 | 8.9 | 56 | 13.4 | 31.3 | 1 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-27 | 0 | 0 | 19.1 | 6.6 | 44 | 13 | 26.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-28 | 0 | 0 | 21.6 | 5.8 | 35 | 10.8 | 15.8 | 0 | 3.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-29 | 0 | 0 | 24.3 | 8.1 | 34 | 12.3 | 28.8 | 0 | 10.1 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-07-30 | 0 | 0 | 25.8 | 9.4 | 38 | 11.9 | 38.2 | 0 | 11.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-07-31 | 0 | 0 | 18.4 | 13 | 76 | 11.3 | 27 | 11.9 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-01 | 0 | 0 | 17.7 | 12.2 | 72 | 15.1 | 31 | 11.6 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-02 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 10.2 | 62 | 7.5 | 21.2 | 0.7 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-03 | 0 | 0 | 16.4 | 10 | 82 | 13.6 | 24.8 | 12.1 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-04 | 0 | 0 | 21.6 | 9.1 | 55 | 12.9 | 36.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-05 | 0 | 0 | 22.6 | 9.6 | 49 | 12.8 | 33.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-06 | 0 | 0 | 20.2 | 9.7 | 60 | 10 | 29.5 | 3.2 | 0.4 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-07 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5.7 | 37 | 12.5 | 29.2 | 0 | 1.5 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-08 | 0 | 0 | 19.4 | 7.2 | 41 | 16.6 | 36.7 | 0 | 5 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-09 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 10.9 | 70 | 20 | 41.8 | 12.4 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-10 | 0 | 0 | 13.9 | 10.3 | 87 | 15.1 | 28.8 | 6.8 | 0 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-11 | 0 | 0 | 17.2 | 7.8 | 60 | 11.4 | 25.2 | 3.1 | 0.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-12 | 0 | 0 | 20.2 | 11 | 55 | 14.2 | 37.4 | 1.7 | 0.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-13 | 0 | 0 | 26.8 | 11.6 | 41 | 16.2 | 39.6 | 0 | 2.1 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-14 | 0 | 0 | 20.7 | 9.7 | 35 | 22.4 | 50.8 | 0.2 | 7.2 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-15 | 0 | 0 | 16.8 | 7.6 | 66 | 13 | 28.4 | 5.4 | 0.5 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-16 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 7.2 | 41 | 14.5 | 36.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-17 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 11.4 | 45 | 15.3 | 35.3 | 0 | 2.9 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-18 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7.3 | 66 | 14.5 | 36 | 0.6 | 3.2 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-19 | 0 | 0 | 18.9 | 5.4 | 46 | 14.8 | 36 | 0.9 | 2.8 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-20 | 0 | 0 | 22.3 | 6.5 | 35 | 13 | 24.5 | 0.1 | 6.1 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-21 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 7.3 | 28 | 12 | 20.9 | 0 | 9.8 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-22 | 0 | 0 | 23.4 | 5.4 | 31 | 8.9 | 19.1 | 0 | 10.4 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-23 | 0 | 0 | 18.3 | 9.6 | 56 | 11.7 | 20.5 | 0.2 | 7.8 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-08-24 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 8.4 | 40 | 14 | 29.9 | 0 | 11.5 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-25 | 0 | 0 | 23.4 | 6.4 | 36 | 15.8 | 34.6 | 0 | 13.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-26 | 0 | 0 | 23.8 | 10.7 | 47 | 15.7 | 38.2 | 0 | 14.9 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-27 | 0 | 0 | 24.2 | 7.8 | 45 | 12.7 | 29.9 | 0 | 12.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-28 | 0 | 0 | 27.2 | 11.1 | 42 | 11.8 | 24.8 | 0 | 12.9 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-29 | 0 | 0 | 28.2 | 11.6 | 36 | 10.6 | 23.4 | 0 | 14.4 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-30 | 1 | 8 | 26.7 | 12 | 42 | 9.7 | 19.1 | 0.6 | 12.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-08-31 | 0 | 0 | 23.2 | 13 | 57 | 12.6 | 29.9 | 2.4 | 9.7 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-01 | 2 | 20 | 23.2 | 9.5 | 34 | 25.2 | 60.1 | 0 | 12.2 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-02 | 8 | 19 | 18.3 | 8.6 | 42 | 24.5 | 56.9 | 0.5 | 18 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-03 | 0 | 0 | 16.3 | 7.6 | 39 | 16.9 | 41.8 | 0 | 15.1 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-04 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 | 1.8 | 39 | 21.6 | 38.2 | 2.5 | 3.6 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-05 | 0 | 0 | 14.9 | -0.2 | 35 | 13.5 | 33.5 | 0.1 | 7.3 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-06 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 | 3.5 | 76 | 11.4 | 23 | 7.2 | 0.4 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-07 | 0 | 0 | 16.8 | 2.8 | 50 | 8 | 33.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-08 | 0 | 0 | 18.9 | 3.2 | 36 | 9 | 22.7 | 0 | 1.8 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-09 | 0 | 0 | 20.9 | 3.4 | 28 | 9.5 | 15.8 | 0 | 5.4 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-10 | 0 | 0 | 22.4 | 4 | 35 | 17 | 36.4 | 0 | 14.9 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-11 | 0 | 0 | 24.5 | 9.1 | 34 | 20.8 | 47.2 | 0 | 21.3 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-12 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 | 10.4 | 45 | 11.5 | 26.6 | 0 | 14.9 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-13 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 8.4 | 47 | 17.8 | 47.2 | 1.8 | 18.2 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-14 | 0 | 0 | 16.3 | 4.6 | 46 | 23.8 | 41.8 | 3.1 | 2.6 | muy_bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-15 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3.9 | 29 | 22.4 | 46.4 | 0 | 10.5 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-16 | 0 | 0 | 18.8 | 7.1 | 38 | 17.9 | 34.9 | 0 | 12.2 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-17 | 0 | 0 | 19.5 | 4.3 | 42 | 14.6 | 30.6 | 0 | 12.4 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-18 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 | 7.1 | 47 | 17.9 | 43.6 | 0.4 | 14.6 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-19 | 0 | 0 | 16.2 | 4 | 40 | 14.1 | 27.4 | 0.1 | 12.3 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-20 | 0 | 0 | 15.5 | 1.3 | 49 | 10.4 | 19.4 | 0 | 9.5 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-21 | 0 | 0 | 18.9 | 2.7 | 33 | 23.4 | 54 | 0 | 23.7 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-09-22 | 0 | 0 | 23.9 | 7.6 | 28 | 21.7 | 43.9 | 0 | 22.3 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-09-23 | 12 | 41 | 21.7 | 9.9 | 48 | 24.5 | 53.3 | 0 | 22.6 | alto | 1 |
| 2023-09-24 | 0 | 0 | 16.8 | 7.9 | 50 | 20.1 | 43.6 | 0 | 12.3 | moderado | 1 |
| 2023-09-25 | 2 | 4 | 15.8 | 3.8 | 47 | 22.1 | 45.7 | 0 | 9.7 | bajo | 1 |
| 2023-09-26 | 0 | 0 | 19.8 | 8.3 | 43 | 22.4 | 47.5 | 1.1 | 13 | moderado | 0 |
It is generated in your browser from this page’s data: one file per fire, aggregated by day and without individual hotspots.
Live widget for your story
It updates itself while the fire is still active and links to this page. Free, with the attribution shown at the bottom.
Sources for this page: NBAC (NRCan), NASA FIRMS (VIIRS), ERA5 (ECMWF/Copernicus C3S) · Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), GHSL (JRC). Open-Meteo.com · How we build fire pages: methodology
- Burnt area
- 12,089ha
- official perimeter (CWFIS)
- Duration
- 122days
- 27 May 2023 – 25 Sept 2023
- Census subdivisions hit
- 1
- municipalities
- Started on
- 27 May
- 2023
- Heat detections
- 549
- in a single hotspot: 316 MW
- Danger at start
- 34
- High · FWI index
- Average daily power
- 1,000MW
- detected power per day, on average
Where it burned
HOTSPOTS BY DAY
27 May25 Sept
25 Sept 2023
How it evolved, day by day
29 May
3 Jun
11 Jun
2 Sept
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
28°high
73km/h · peak gust
20%lowest humidity
It had gone 2 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.1 mm on 26 Sept.
This area had burned before
No earlier perimeters overlap this fire since 2016, when the satellite record begins.
How big is it?
London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Paris boundary: geoBoundaries · Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN-F) (Etalab Open License 2.0).
Madrid boundary: geoBoundaries · Open Data ESRI, IGN Central Registry of Cartography Area (CC BY 4.0).
Berlin boundary: geoBoundaries · Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (dl-de/by-2-0).
This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.
What happened to each census subdivision
-
Wood Buffalo where it started12,075 ha reached on 28 May0.2 %
Burnt area inside each census subdivision, 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.
People and buildings inside the perimeter
GHSL 2025Built-up area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20
Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (GHSL 2025, 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. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.
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)
Started with Strong wind: 15 % of the area in Canada
| Day | High | Min. humidity | Peak gust | Rain | Danger (FWI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May | 25.7 °C | 25 % | 50 km/h | 0.7 mm | High 34 |
| 28 May | 23.2 °C | 22 % | 48 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 36 |
| 29 May | 20.8 °C | 26 % | 54 km/h | 0.2 mm | Very high 39 |
| 30 May | 21.2 °C | 20 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 31 May | 22.2 °C | 28 % | 23 km/h | 0.1 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 1 Jun | 19.6 °C | 29 % | 33 km/h | 0.2 mm | High 26 |
| 2 Jun | 21.9 °C | 30 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 3 Jun | 24.7 °C | 27 % | 33 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 28 |
| 4 Jun | 21.1 °C | 69 % | 33 km/h | 3.6 mm | Very low 5 |
| 5 Jun | 20.5 °C | 56 % | 37 km/h | 8.7 mm | Very low 2 |
| 6 Jun | 19.3 °C | 32 % | 48 km/h | 0.3 mm | Very low 4 |
| 7 Jun | 20.6 °C | 31 % | 56 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 8 Jun | 21.1 °C | 37 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 9 Jun | 25.1 °C | 32 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 10 Jun | 27.7 °C | 29 % | 61 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 31 |
| 11 Jun | 24.0 °C | 26 % | 48 km/h | 2.3 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 12 Jun | 19.1 °C | 38 % | 31 km/h | 0.3 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 13 Jun | 20.0 °C | 54 % | 37 km/h | 19.8 mm | Very low 3 |
| 14 Jun | 10.3 °C | 96 % | 44 km/h | 25.1 mm | Very low 0 |
| 15 Jun | 17.2 °C | 44 % | 45 km/h | 1.7 mm | Very low 0 |
| 16 Jun | 17.4 °C | 50 % | 42 km/h | 7.1 mm | Very low 1 |
| 17 Jun | 16.1 °C | 58 % | 51 km/h | 9.1 mm | Very low 0 |
| 18 Jun | 16.2 °C | 57 % | 41 km/h | 0.7 mm | Very low 0 |
| 19 Jun | 16.5 °C | 42 % | 73 km/h | 3.4 mm | Low 6 |
| 20 Jun | 15.8 °C | 35 % | 46 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 1 |
| 21 Jun | 19.0 °C | 29 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 5 |
| 22 Jun | 19.4 °C | 48 % | 30 km/h | 2.6 mm | Very low 1 |
| 23 Jun | 25.9 °C | 24 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 4 |
| 24 Jun | 25.4 °C | 35 % | 42 km/h | 3.9 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 25 Jun | 21.9 °C | 32 % | 24 km/h | 0.2 mm | Very low 1 |
| 26 Jun | 21.9 °C | 57 % | 36 km/h | 4.8 mm | Very low 3 |
| 27 Jun | 25.3 °C | 38 % | 24 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 1 |
| 28 Jun | 27.9 °C | 35 % | 28 km/h | 2.2 mm | Low 8 |
| 29 Jun | 25.1 °C | 48 % | 37 km/h | 5.4 mm | Low 6 |
| 30 Jun | 25.9 °C | 29 % | 46 km/h | 0.7 mm | Very low 3 |
| 1 Jul | 21.7 °C | 30 % | 31 km/h | 1.8 mm | Low 7 |
| 2 Jul | 14.6 °C | 76 % | 49 km/h | 22.5 mm | Very low 0 |
| 3 Jul | 18.3 °C | 43 % | 53 km/h | 5.7 mm | Very low 0 |
| 4 Jul | 21.8 °C | 30 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 1 |
| 5 Jul | 25.0 °C | 35 % | 45 km/h | 1.5 mm | Low 11 |
| 6 Jul | 20.6 °C | 37 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 5 |
| 7 Jul | 23.9 °C | 34 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 11 |
| 8 Jul | 26.3 °C | 41 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 9 Jul | 22.9 °C | 38 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 10 Jul | 20.6 °C | 35 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 11 Jul | 25.7 °C | 34 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 12 Jul | 25.8 °C | 27 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 19 |
| 13 Jul | 23.0 °C | 36 % | 47 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 14 Jul | 21.8 °C | 38 % | 40 km/h | 0.4 mm | High 23 |
| 15 Jul | 21.9 °C | 41 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 16 |
| 16 Jul | 23.2 °C | 39 % | 34 km/h | 0.2 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 17 Jul | 17.0 °C | 64 % | 46 km/h | 7.1 mm | Low 5 |
| 18 Jul | 20.1 °C | 60 % | 21 km/h | 1.8 mm | Very low 0 |
| 19 Jul | 21.9 °C | 59 % | 23 km/h | 1.2 mm | Very low 1 |
| 20 Jul | 23.7 °C | 48 % | 23 km/h | 1.1 mm | Very low 2 |
| 21 Jul | 25.8 °C | 37 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 9 |
| 22 Jul | 25.2 °C | 41 % | 25 km/h | 0.4 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 23 Jul | 25.1 °C | 42 % | 26 km/h | 5.4 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 24 Jul | 24.6 °C | 45 % | 28 km/h | 0.5 mm | Very low 3 |
| 25 Jul | 17.9 °C | 63 % | 44 km/h | 37.8 mm | Very low 0 |
| 26 Jul | 17.5 °C | 56 % | 31 km/h | 1.0 mm | Very low 0 |
| 27 Jul | 19.1 °C | 44 % | 27 km/h | 0.2 mm | Very low 1 |
| 28 Jul | 21.6 °C | 35 % | 16 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 3 |
| 29 Jul | 24.3 °C | 34 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 30 Jul | 25.8 °C | 38 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 31 Jul | 18.4 °C | 76 % | 27 km/h | 11.9 mm | Very low 0 |
| 1 Aug | 17.7 °C | 72 % | 31 km/h | 11.6 mm | Very low 0 |
| 2 Aug | 19.2 °C | 62 % | 21 km/h | 0.7 mm | Very low 0 |
| 3 Aug | 16.4 °C | 82 % | 25 km/h | 12.1 mm | Very low 0 |
| 4 Aug | 21.6 °C | 55 % | 37 km/h | 0.3 mm | Very low 0 |
| 5 Aug | 22.6 °C | 49 % | 34 km/h | 0.2 mm | Very low 1 |
| 6 Aug | 20.2 °C | 60 % | 30 km/h | 3.2 mm | Very low 0 |
| 7 Aug | 20.0 °C | 37 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 2 |
| 8 Aug | 19.4 °C | 41 % | 37 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 5 |
| 9 Aug | 13.2 °C | 70 % | 42 km/h | 12.4 mm | Very low 0 |
| 10 Aug | 13.9 °C | 87 % | 29 km/h | 6.8 mm | Very low 0 |
| 11 Aug | 17.2 °C | 60 % | 25 km/h | 3.1 mm | Very low 0 |
| 12 Aug | 20.2 °C | 55 % | 37 km/h | 1.7 mm | Very low 0 |
| 13 Aug | 26.8 °C | 41 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 2 |
| 14 Aug | 20.7 °C | 35 % | 51 km/h | 0.2 mm | Low 7 |
| 15 Aug | 16.8 °C | 66 % | 28 km/h | 5.4 mm | Very low 0 |
| 16 Aug | 20.1 °C | 41 % | 37 km/h | 1.1 mm | Very low 0 |
| 17 Aug | 21.0 °C | 45 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 3 |
| 18 Aug | 12.0 °C | 66 % | 36 km/h | 0.6 mm | Very low 3 |
| 19 Aug | 18.9 °C | 46 % | 36 km/h | 0.9 mm | Very low 3 |
| 20 Aug | 22.3 °C | 35 % | 24 km/h | 0.1 mm | Low 6 |
| 21 Aug | 24.0 °C | 28 % | 21 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 22 Aug | 23.4 °C | 31 % | 19 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 23 Aug | 18.3 °C | 56 % | 20 km/h | 0.2 mm | Low 8 |
| 24 Aug | 19.2 °C | 40 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 25 Aug | 23.4 °C | 36 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 26 Aug | 23.8 °C | 47 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 27 Aug | 24.2 °C | 45 % | 30 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 28 Aug | 27.2 °C | 42 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 29 Aug | 28.2 °C | 36 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 14 |
| 30 Aug | 26.7 °C | 42 % | 19 km/h | 0.6 mm | Moderate 13 |
| 31 Aug | 23.2 °C | 57 % | 30 km/h | 2.4 mm | Low 10 |
| 1 Sept | 23.2 °C | 34 % | 60 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 2 Sept | 18.3 °C | 42 % | 57 km/h | 0.5 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 3 Sept | 16.3 °C | 39 % | 42 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 4 Sept | 12.5 °C | 39 % | 38 km/h | 2.5 mm | Very low 4 |
| 5 Sept | 14.9 °C | 35 % | 34 km/h | 0.1 mm | Low 7 |
| 6 Sept | 11.2 °C | 76 % | 23 km/h | 7.2 mm | Very low 0 |
| 7 Sept | 16.8 °C | 50 % | 34 km/h | 0.7 mm | Very low 0 |
| 8 Sept | 18.9 °C | 36 % | 23 km/h | 0.0 mm | Very low 2 |
| 9 Sept | 20.9 °C | 28 % | 16 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 5 |
| 10 Sept | 22.4 °C | 35 % | 36 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 11 Sept | 24.5 °C | 34 % | 47 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 21 |
| 12 Sept | 19.2 °C | 45 % | 27 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 13 Sept | 18.0 °C | 47 % | 47 km/h | 1.8 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 14 Sept | 16.3 °C | 46 % | 42 km/h | 3.1 mm | Very low 3 |
| 15 Sept | 23.0 °C | 29 % | 46 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 16 Sept | 18.8 °C | 38 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 17 Sept | 19.5 °C | 42 % | 31 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 18 Sept | 14.1 °C | 47 % | 44 km/h | 0.4 mm | Moderate 15 |
| 19 Sept | 16.2 °C | 40 % | 27 km/h | 0.1 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 20 Sept | 15.5 °C | 49 % | 19 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 21 Sept | 18.9 °C | 33 % | 54 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 22 Sept | 23.9 °C | 28 % | 44 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 22 |
| 23 Sept | 21.7 °C | 48 % | 53 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 23 |
| 24 Sept | 16.8 °C | 50 % | 44 km/h | 0.0 mm | Moderate 12 |
| 25 Sept | 15.8 °C | 47 % | 46 km/h | 0.0 mm | Low 10 |
| 26 Sept after | 19.8 °C | 43 % | 48 km/h | 1.1 mm | Moderate 13 |
Its twins: fires that started in the same weather
It started with an FWI of 34.2, a minimum humidity of 25% and 2 days without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 17.
FWI at the start
34.2
Minimum humidity
25 %
Days without rain
2
this fire
chosen twins
rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar
Outlines of the closest twins
This fire · Wood Buffalo fire, 27 May 2023
12,089 ha
122 days
FWI 34.2
Min. humidity 25 %
Wood Buffalo fire, July 2024
15,819 ha
37 days
FWI 32.1
Min. humidity 26 %
164 km away, in 2024
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 3.7 mm on 17 Aug.
Wood Buffalo fire, July 2024
6,464 ha
62 days
FWI 29.3
Min. humidity 25 %
191 km away, in 2024
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 16.1 mm on 12 Sept.
Wood Buffalo fire, July 2021
3,605 ha
10 days
FWI 30.4
Min. humidity 26 %
170 km away, in 2021
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 1.9 mm on 20 Jul.
Improvement District No. 24 W* fire, August 2017
5,917 ha
22 days
FWI 28.7
Min. humidity 24 %
95 km away, in 2017
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 3.3 mm on 11 Sept.
Mackenzie County fire, May 2019
335,032 ha
125 days
FWI 36.7
Min. humidity 23 %
248 km away, in 2019
First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: 1.0 mm on 14 Sept.
What happened to them
- 22 days
- median duration
- 6,464 ha
- median area
- 35 %
- went past 10,000 ha
- 3.3 mm
- rain at the end (median; 17 of 17 had it)
It was 1.9 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 122 days, against 22 days.
Only 5 of its 17 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. All of them had rain in the ten days after the end: the first rainy day brought a median of 3.3 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
1.1 mmfirst rain
26 Septthe day after it ended
73km/h · max. gust
It was considered over on 25 Sept, and on 26 Sept 1.1 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 17 of 17, with a median of 3.3 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.
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
↔
Before · 20 May 2023
After · 2 Oct 2023
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 · CopernicusOn 15 July 2023 the air beside the fire reached 417 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 255: 17 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
PM2.5 peak417 µg/m³
Days over the guideline80 days
PM10596 µg/m³
Optical depth8.88
WHO 15
25 May19 Jun14 Jul8 Aug2 Sept
Good
Fair
Moderate
Poor
Very poor
Extremely 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 · 549Every 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 time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
- 1,207 haWood Buffalo6 July 2024 · 19 days · 8 km away
- 3,957 haWood BuffaloJuly 2023 · 23 days · 13 km away
- 1,473 haWood BuffaloJune 2021 · 4 days · 19 km away
- 49,732 haWood Buffalo28 May 2023 · 146 days · 31 km away
- 12,729 haWood BuffaloAugust 2017 · 27 days · 36 km away
- 14,701 haWood Buffalo29 June 2023 · 91 days · 40 km away
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Wood Buffalo fire last?
- According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 27 May 2023 to 25 September 2023 (122 days). The perimeter dates it from 27 May 2023 to 22 September 2023.
- How much area did it burn?
- The official perimeter mapped by Canada’s CWFIS (Natural Resources Canada) is 12,089 hectares (120.9 km²). Other tallies, such as those of provincial agencies, may give slightly different figures.
- Which census subdivisions burned?
- The fire only entered Wood Buffalo (12,075 ha, 0.2 %).
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 28.2 °C, humidity dropped to 20 % and gusts hit 73 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 39, class Very high.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the official burnt perimeter of Canada’s CWFIS (NBAC, Natural Resources Canada) or, for the current season and until NBAC publishes it, the one rebuilt by GWIS (Copernicus); from NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots; and from the administrative boundaries of Canada. 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: 17. Their median duration was 22 days and their median area 6,464 ha; 35 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 5 of its 17 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. All of them had rain in the ten days after the end: the first rainy day brought a median of 3.3 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.
Emergency number: 911 · Emergency number and official warnings
- CIFFC · Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre ↗
- CWFIS · Canadian Wildland Fire Information System ↗
Satellite cross-check
History of this page · 1 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
- Last day with fire: 22 September 2023 → 25 September 2023.
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
How we know this
- Perimeter: NBAC (Natural Resources Canada), official.
- Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 27 May 2023 to 22 September 2023. 549 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 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.
Where this data comes from
The perimeter is official: it comes from the National Burned Area Composite (NBAC) of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS), Natural Resources Canada, which maps it on satellite imagery and publishes it under the Open Government Licence – Canada. Until NBAC publishes the current season, this year’s fires carry the perimeter rebuilt from heat detections by GWIS (Copernicus, CC BY 4.0), which is approximate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Census subdivision boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (Open Data Commons Open Database License 1.0). The area per census subdivision is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from official figures.