Pine Springs Basin Fire

199071,241 acresOregon

The Pine Springs Basin Fire burned 71,241 acres, about 111 square miles, across Harney County. It began on August 6, 1990.

Watch how it happened

Pine Springs Basin Fire · 1990

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 6, 1990Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area71,241 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 Pine Springs Basin Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered31%22,334
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive20%14,301
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive25%17,675
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change23%16,671
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.4%260

31% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 22,334 acres; 51% 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
Harney CountyOR71,143

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