Fish Complex (Fish Springs)

199947,068 acresNevada

The Fish Complex (Fish Springs) burned 47,068 acres, about 74 square miles, across Washoe County. It began on August 23, 1999.

Watch how it happened

Fish Complex (Fish Springs) · 1999

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 23, 1999Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area47,068 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 Fish Complex (Fish Springs)
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered13%6,110
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive55%26,006
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive24%11,452
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change6.3%2,988
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images1.1%496

13% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 6,110 acres; 68% 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
Washoe CountyNV47,030

Other large fires in Nevada in 1999

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