Big Ol Monster Fire

199944,974 acresAlaska

The Big Ol Monster Fire burned 44,974 acres, about 70 square miles, across Southeast Fairbanks Census Area. It began on June 19, 1999.

Watch how it happened

Big Ol Monster Fire · 1999

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJune 19, 1999Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area44,974 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 Big Ol Monster Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered24%10,816
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive24%10,846
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive16%7,177
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change26%11,511
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.2%94
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images10%4,530

24% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 10,816 acres; 48% 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 AreaAK25,216

Other large fires in Alaska in 1999

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