Fishel Creek Fire

199928,621 acresMontana

The Fishel Creek Fire burned 28,621 acres, about 45 square miles, across Musselshell County. It began on July 24, 1999.

Watch how it happened

Fishel Creek Fire · 1999

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJuly 24, 1999Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area28,621 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 Fishel Creek Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered4.9%1,389
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive34%9,793
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive54%15,526
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change6.7%1,913

5% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 1,389 acres; 39% 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
Musselshell CountyMT28,610

Other large fires in Montana in 1999

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