Wagon Box Fire

199932,154 acresNevada and Utah

The Wagon Box Fire burned 32,154 acres, about 50 square miles, across 2 counties. It began on July 19, 1999.

Watch how it happened

Wagon Box Fire · 1999

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJuly 19, 1999Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area32,154 ac
Revealed—
Counties2

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 Wagon Box Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered0.9%281
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive19%6,259
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive60%19,151
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change20%6,452

1% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 281 acres; 20% 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
Elko CountyNV21,628
Box Elder CountyUT10,503

Other large fires in Nevada and Utah in 1999

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