Hot Slough Fire

199026,393 acresAlaska

The Hot Slough Fire burned 26,393 acres, about 41 square miles, across Denali Borough. It began on July 9, 1990.

Watch how it happened

Hot Slough Fire · 1990

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJuly 9, 1990Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area26,393 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 Hot Slough Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered4.1%1,071
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive26%6,793
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive29%7,652
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change9.4%2,485
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before1.8%477
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images30%7,915

4% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 1,071 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
Denali BoroughAK26,410

Other large fires in Alaska in 1990

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