Pingo Fire

199946,057 acresAlaska

The Pingo Fire burned 46,057 acres, about 72 square miles, across Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. It began on June 13, 1999.

Watch how it happened

Pingo Fire · 1999

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJune 13, 1999Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area46,057 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 Pingo Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered21%9,766
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive32%14,531
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive21%9,529
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change21%9,517
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before1.1%516
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images4.8%2,199

21% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 9,766 acres; 53% 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
Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaAK46,087

Other large fires in Alaska in 1999

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