North Hill Fire

198427,145 acresMontana

The North Hill Fire burned 27,145 acres, about 42 square miles, across Lewis and Clark County. It began on August 27, 1984.

Watch how it happened

North Hill Fire · 1984

How it happened

See how severely each place burned, revealed outward from where it started.

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 27, 1984Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area27,145 ac
Revealed—
Counties1

How severely it burned

Burn severity inside the final perimeter, classified from Landsat images taken before and after the fire.

Map of burn severity across the North Hill Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered7.4%2,011
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive23%6,364
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive50%13,479
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change19%5,050
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.9%240

7% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 2,011 acres; 31% burned at moderate or high severity.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (U.S. Geological Survey and USDA Forest Service). Classes come from the change in a Landsat burn index (dNBR) between images before and after the fire; acres are each class’s share of the fire’s mapped area.

Where it burned

Acres inside each county, measured from the satellite-mapped perimeter.

Acres burned by county
Lewis and Clark CountyMT27,161

Other large fires in Montana in 1984

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service). Type recorded: Wildfire.