Bearpaw Mt Fire

200039,522 acresAlaska

The Bearpaw Mt Fire burned 39,522 acres, about 62 square miles, across Denali Borough. It began on June 24, 2000.

Watch how it happened

Bearpaw Mt Fire · 2000

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJune 24, 2000Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area39,522 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 Bearpaw Mt Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered41%16,227
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive26%10,106
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive13%5,204
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change8.6%3,413
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before0.4%147
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images11%4,425

41% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 16,227 acres; 67% 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
Denali BoroughAK39,541

Other large fires in Alaska in 2000

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