Salt Lake Desert Complex (Aragonite)

200039,815 acresUtah

The Salt Lake Desert Complex (Aragonite) burned 39,815 acres, about 62 square miles, across Tooele County. It began on August 1, 2000.

Watch how it happened

Salt Lake Desert Complex (Aragonite) · 2000

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionAugust 1, 2000Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area39,815 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 Salt Lake Desert Complex (Aragonite)
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered7.9%3,151
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive42%16,596
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive37%14,833
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change13%5,230

8% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 3,151 acres; 50% 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
Tooele CountyUT39,825

Other large fires in Utah in 2000

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