Forest Fire (7079 ha) in South Africa 06 May 2024

Event summary

This forest fire is expected to have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID WF 1019727
Countries: South Africa
Start Date - Last detection*: 06 May 2024 - 21 May 2024
Duration (days): 15
People affected: 3 in the burned area
Burned area: 7079 ha
More Info: Global Wildfire Information System

*(Last detection of the thermal anomaly of the fire)

GDACS Score


Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.


Impact Timeline

IDAlert colorGDACS ScorePopulation AffectedBurned Area (ha)Last UpdateSource
1 0.5 2 5045 16 May 2024 08:00 GWIS
2 0.5 2 6281 17 May 2024 08:00 GWIS
3 0.5 3 6652 18 May 2024 08:01 GWIS
4 0.5 3 6829 19 May 2024 08:00 GWIS
5 0.5 3 6963 20 May 2024 08:01 GWIS
6 0.5 3 7079 21 May 2024 08:00 GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in South Africa , Province of Eastern Cape (population 6,007,740) . The nearest places are Port Elizabeth, and Uitenhage.

Radius Population
10 km 100000 people
5 km 20000 people
2 km <1000 people
1 km <1000 people
Burned Area <1000 people

Land Cover area Source
Protected Area 4373 ha WDPA

Affected Provinces

Region Province Country Population
Eastern Cape South Africa 6 million people

Affected populated places

Name Region Province Country City class Population Distance
Uitenhage Eastern Cape South Africa City 230000 people 16 km
Port Elizabeth Eastern Cape South Africa Major city 960000 people 41 km

see full list

Critical infrastructure

Airports, ports, nuclear plants and hydrodams at risk, if affected, are listed below.

Airports

Name IATA Code Elevation (m) Usage Runway type IFR Runway Length (ft) Distance
H F Verwoerd PLZ 69 Civ. Paved Yes 6400 48 km

Ports

Name LOCODE Country Distance
Port Elizabeth ZAPLZ South Africa 48 km
Cape St. Francis South Africa 75 km

Dams

Reservoir Dam Name River Year Distance
Groendal Zwartskop 1932 5 km
Sandrivier Sand 1969 20 km
Loerie Loerie 1984 33 km
Lake Mentz Sundays 1978 51 km
Kouga Kouga 1986 63 km
Impofu Krom 1983 74 km
Churchill Krom 1984 83 km
Nuwejaars Nuwejaars 1981 86 km

Nuclear plants

More information

For a full list of available products related to this event, please refer to the GDACS Resources page.