Basin Complex
2008164,453 acresCalifornia
The Basin Complex burned 164,453 acres, about 257 square miles, across Monterey County. It began on June 21, 2008.
Watch how it happenedBasin Complex · 2008
How it happened
Watch it burn in the order satellites saw it, coloured by how severely each place burned.
How severely it burned
Burn severity inside the final perimeter, classified from Landsat images taken before and after the fire.
| Severity | Share | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Highmost vegetation consumed, soils altered | 18% | 28,802 |
| Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive | 29% | 48,059 |
| Lowsurface fire, most trees survive | 25% | 41,334 |
| Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change | 28% | 45,262 |
| Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before | 0.6% | 996 |
18% of the area inside the perimeter burned at high severity, about 28,802 acres; 47% 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.
| Monterey County | CA | 164,499 |
Other large fires in California in 2008
- Siskiyou-Blue 2 Complex (Blue 2)100,756 acres
- Yolla Bolly Complex (Iron)94,807 acres
- Panther Fire71,402 acres
- Basin Complex (Indians)59,072 acres
- Btu Lightning Complex (Long Branch-Jack)52,072 acres
- Bear Wallow Complex (Ukonom)39,999 acres
- Shu Lightning Complex (Moon)36,479 acres
- Piute Fire36,243 acres
Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service). Type recorded: Wildfire.