White Lightning Complex (Youther)

201030,316 acresOregon

The White Lightning Complex (Youther) burned 30,316 acres, about 47 square miles, across Wasco County. It began on August 18, 2010.

Watch how it happened

White Lightning Complex (Youther) · 2010

How it happened

Watch it burn in the order satellites saw it, coloured by how severely each place burned.

About this replay
Date (UTC)—Historical replay
Burned so far—acres
High severity—of the area so far
Detections55satellite fire pixels

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 White Lightning Complex (Youther)
Burn severity by class
SeverityShareAcres
Moderatemixed: many trees killed, some survive8.4%2,548
Lowsurface fire, most trees survive67%20,197
Unburned to lowislands inside the perimeter, little change24%7,125
Increased greennessvegetation greener after the fire than before1.5%446

No part of the fire was classed as high severity; 8% burned at moderate 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
Wasco CountyOR30,321

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