Sombrero Fire

1999128,047 acresNevada

The Sombrero Fire burned 128,047 acres, about 200 square miles, across Humboldt County. It began on August 4, 1999.

Watch how it happened

Sombrero Fire · 1999

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 4, 1999Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area128,047 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 Sombrero Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive15%19,119
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive65%83,630
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change20%25,167
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images0.1%118

No part of the fire was classed as high severity; 15% burned at moderate 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
Humboldt CountyNV128,142

Other large fires in Nevada in 1999

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