Cabin Fire

198825,883 acresIdaho

The Cabin Fire burned 25,883 acres, about 40 square miles, across Idaho County. It began on June 25, 1988.

Watch how it happened

Cabin Fire · 1988

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJune 25, 1988Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area25,883 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 Cabin Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered2.6%662
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive7.5%1,953
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive27%7,081
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change61%15,858
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before1.3%327

3% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 662 acres; 10% 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
Idaho CountyID25,890

Other large fires in Idaho in 1988

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