Wildfires of 1996

Elk Spring Fire

1996New MexicoWildfire

The Elk Spring Fire burned 2,500 acres in New Mexico, in 1996. It was discovered on February 21, 1996, and contained on February 24, 1996. The cause was recorded as human.

Size
2,500 acres
Discovered
February 21, 1996
Contained
February 24, 1996
Cause
Human

Map

The burned area boundary MTBS mapped from Landsat imagery, 2,282 acres. Point of origin as reported, 33.069, -105.606.

The record

Reported final size
2,500 acres
Burned area mapped by MTBS
2,282 acres
Discovered
February 21, 1996, 1:00 p.m. local time
Contained
February 24, 1996, 8:00 p.m. local time
Cause
Human, Undetermined
State
New Mexico
Land ownership at origin
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Reporting unit
Mescalero Agency
Agency
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Incident type
Wildfire
MTBS fire identifier
NM3307610556319960221
MTBS assessment
Extended
Fire occurrence record
W-346804
Note on the perimeter
pre / post imgs pretty late in yr b/c couldnt find pre/post img pair earlier in yr.

The three sizes are three measurements: the size the agency reported when the fire was out, the burned area MTBS drew from satellite imagery before and after, and the GIS area inside the final perimeter, unburned islands included. They rarely agree exactly.

Other large fires in New Mexico in 199612

FireAcresStartCause
Unnamed Fire22,580Jun 23, 1996
Lookout Fire17,000Jun 8, 1996Natural
Dome Fire16,575Apr 25, 1996Human
Cherry Fire15,835
Archuleta Fire15,356Jun 10, 1996Natural
Farley Fire10,000Feb 26, 1996
Chino Well Fire8,260Apr 20, 1996Human
Rabbit Fire7,600Mar 23, 1996
Hondo Fire7,525May 5, 1996Human
Pinatosa Fire7,100Mar 12, 1996Human
Langstroth Fire6,500Jun 9, 1996Natural
San Pedro Fire5,975Jun 8, 1996Human

Every fire of 1996 New Mexico fire history

Nearby

Sources

Burned areas and ignition dates from Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS), a program of the US Geological Survey and the USDA Forest Service. Fire reports from Short, Karen C. 2022, Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014], 6th Edition, Forest Service Research Data Archive, doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6. Records before 2014 were joined by this site: a fire report to the burned area its MTBS identifier names, a perimeter to the burned area it lies in when the names or the sizes agree.