Golden Fire
198848,138 acresIdaho
The Golden Fire burned 48,138 acres, about 75 square miles, across 3 counties. It began on August 24, 1988.
Watch how it happenedGolden Fire · 1988
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered | 32% | 15,166 |
| Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive | 16% | 7,914 |
| Lowsurface fire, most trees survive | 14% | 6,749 |
| Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change | 38% | 18,143 |
| Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before | 0.3% | 166 |
32% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 15,166 acres; 48% 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.
| Valley County | ID | 24,502 |
| Idaho County | ID | 23,567 |
| Lemhi County | ID | 67 |
Other large fires in Idaho in 1988
- North Fork Fire563,089 acres
- Teepee Butte Fire59,518 acres
- Sliver Creek Fire45,068 acres
- Ladder Fire42,334 acres
- Cabin Fire25,883 acres
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service). Type recorded: Wildfire.