Thorn Creek Fire

199070,381 acresIdaho

The Thorn Creek Fire burned 70,381 acres, about 110 square miles, across 4 counties. It began on August 8, 1990.

Watch how it happened

Thorn Creek Fire · 1990

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 8, 1990Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area70,381 ac
Revealed—
Counties4

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 Thorn Creek Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered0.5%376
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive34%23,955
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive59%41,506
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change5.3%3,729
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images1.1%795

1% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 376 acres; 35% 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
Camas CountyID31,812
Lincoln CountyID31,408
Gooding CountyID6,824
Blaine CountyID319

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