Fountain Fire

199262,301 acresCalifornia

The Fountain Fire burned 62,301 acres, about 97 square miles, across Shasta County. It began on August 20, 1992.

Watch how it happened

Fountain Fire · 1992

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 20, 1992Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area62,301 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 Fountain Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered44%27,361
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive29%17,982
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive18%11,265
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change7.9%4,922
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before1.2%771

44% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 27,361 acres; 73% 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
Shasta CountyCA62,339

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