Salmon Challis Wilderness Complex (Little Pistol)

200053,777 acresIdaho

The Salmon Challis Wilderness Complex (Little Pistol) burned 53,777 acres, about 84 square miles, across 2 counties. It began on August 11, 2000.

Watch how it happened

Salmon Challis Wilderness Complex (Little Pistol) · 2000

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 11, 2000Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area53,777 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 Salmon Challis Wilderness Complex (Little Pistol)
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered15%8,169
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive21%11,172
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive37%19,857
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change23%12,166
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before1.8%949
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images2.7%1,463

15% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 8,169 acres; 36% 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
Valley CountyID45,224
Custer CountyID8,565

Other large fires in Idaho in 2000

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