Spirit Lake Fire

200098,696 acresAlaska

The Spirit Lake Fire burned 98,696 acres, about 154 square miles, across Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. It began on June 10, 2000.

Watch how it happened

Spirit Lake Fire · 2000

How it happened

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

About this replay
IgnitionJune 10, 2000Historical replay — order not recorded
Final area98,696 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 Spirit Lake Fire
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered4.4%4,303
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive34%33,182
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive38%37,856
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change23%22,577
Not mappedcloud, shadow or water in the satellite images0.8%777

4% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 4,303 acres; 38% 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
Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaAK98,775

Other large fires in Alaska in 2000

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