Forest Fire (17146 ha) in Sierra Leone 22 Apr 2023

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 1013775
Countries: Sierra Leone
Start Date - Last detection*: 22 Apr 2023 - 02 May 2023
Duration (days): 10
People affected: 13966 in the burned area
Burned area: 17146 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 5883 5926 25 Apr 2023 03:00 GWIS
2 0.5 5933 6181 26 Apr 2023 03:00 GWIS
3 0.5 8676 7694 28 Apr 2023 03:00 GWIS
4 0.5 10563 8729 29 Apr 2023 03:00 GWIS
5 0.5 13966 16929 01 May 2023 03:00 GWIS
6 0.5 13966 17146 03 May 2023 03:00 GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in Sierra Leone , Province of Northern (population 2,348,345) . The nearest places are Freetown, Makeni, and Kindia.

Radius Population
10 km 120000 people
5 km 77000 people
2 km 54000 people
1 km 41000 people
Burned Area 14000 people

Land Cover area Source
Settlement 1786 m2 GHSL

Affected Provinces

Region Province Country Population
Northern Sierra Leone 2.3 million people
Forecariah Guinea -

Affected populated places

Name Region Province Country City class Population Distance
Makeni Northern Sierra Leone City 86000 people 75 km
Freetown Western Area Sierra Leone Capital 790000 people 91 km
Kindia Kindia Guinea City 120000 people 107 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
Freetown Lungi FNA 26 Civ. Paved Yes 10500 77 km
Hastings HGS 18 Civ. Paved No 2900 92 km

Ports

Name LOCODE Country Distance
Benty Guinea 57 km
Pepel SLPEP Sierra Leone 71 km
Freetown SLFNA Sierra Leone 90 km

Dams

Reservoir Dam Name River Year Distance
Guma Guma 1966 99 km
Kale Samou 1963 102 km
Banieya Samou 1969 106 km

Nuclear plants

More information

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