Silver Fire

198796,635 acresOregon

The Silver Fire burned 96,635 acres, about 151 square miles, across 2 counties. It began on August 30, 1987.

Watch how it happened

Silver Fire · 1987

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 30, 1987Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area96,635 ac
Revealed—
Counties2

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 Silver Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered14%13,580
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive16%15,248
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive31%29,668
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change39%38,064
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.1%75

14% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 13,580 acres; 30% 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
Josephine CountyOR61,773
Curry CountyOR34,924

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