Carla Lake Fire

199862,462 acresAlaska

The Carla Lake Fire burned 62,462 acres, about 98 square miles, across Southeast Fairbanks Census Area. It began on May 21, 1998.

Watch how it happened

Carla Lake Fire · 1998

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionMay 21, 1998Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area62,462 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 Carla Lake Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered2.4%1,507
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive16%9,889
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive18%11,206
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change51%32,114
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.2%126
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images12%7,621

2% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 1,507 acres; 18% 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
Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaAK62,508

Other large fires in Alaska in 1998

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