Gal N 38 Fire

199061,334 acresAlaska

The Gal N 38 Fire burned 61,334 acres, about 96 square miles, across Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. It began on July 2, 1990.

Watch how it happened

Gal N 38 Fire · 1990

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJuly 2, 1990Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area61,334 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 Gal N 38 Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered50%30,552
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive34%20,695
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive11%6,897
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change3.3%2,031
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images1.9%1,138

50% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 30,552 acres; 84% 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
Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaAK61,375

Other large fires in Alaska in 1990

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