Brushy Fire
198761,193 acresWest Virginia
The Brushy Fire burned 61,193 acres, about 96 square miles, across 3 counties. It began on November 7, 1987.
Watch how it happenedBrushy Fire · 1987
How it happened
See how severely each place burned, revealed outward from where it started.
How severely it burned
Burn severity inside the final perimeter, classified from Landsat images taken before and after the fire.
| Severity | Share | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive | 2.4% | 1,453 |
| Lowsurface fire, most trees survive | 71% | 43,216 |
| Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change | 27% | 16,524 |
No part of the fire was classed as high severity; 2% burned at moderate 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.
| Mingo County | WV | 38,591 |
| Logan County | WV | 20,017 |
| Lincoln County | WV | 2,622 |
Other large fires in West Virginia in 1987
- Unnamed Fire41,774 acres
- Unnamed Fire38,296 acres
- Unnamed Fire27,304 acres
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service). Type recorded: Wildfire.