Fayette Fire

198829,217 acresWyoming

The Fayette Fire burned 29,217 acres, about 46 square miles, across Sublette County. It began on August 21, 1988.

Watch how it happened

Fayette Fire · 1988

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 21, 1988Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area29,217 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 Fayette Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered16%4,760
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive30%8,714
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive42%12,300
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change6.9%2,011
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.1%20
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images4.8%1,412

16% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 4,760 acres; 46% 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
Sublette CountyWY29,234

Other large fires in Wyoming in 1988

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