Wildfires of 1996

Ruby Lake Refuge Fire

1996NevadaWildfire

The Ruby Lake Refuge Fire burned 1,917 acres in Nevada, in 1996. It was discovered on September 21, 1996, and contained on September 23, 1996. The cause was recorded as debris and open burning.

Size
1,917 acres
Discovered
September 21, 1996
Contained
September 23, 1996
Cause
Human

Map

The burned area boundary MTBS mapped from Landsat imagery, 3,604 acres. Point of origin as reported, 40.203, -115.500.

The record

Reported final size
1,917 acres
Burned area mapped by MTBS
3,604 acres
Discovered
September 21, 1996, 11:58 a.m. local time
Contained
September 23, 1996, 6:00 a.m. local time
Cause
Human, Debris and open burning
State
Nevada
Land ownership at origin
Forest Service
Reporting unit
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Agency
Forest Service
Incident type
Wildfire
MTBS fire identifier
NV4021011548319960921
MTBS assessment
Initial
Fire occurrence record
FS-315563

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 Nevada in 199612

FireAcresStartCause
Upper Humboldt Complex (Dutch Flat) Fire67,643Aug 26, 1996Natural
Quinn-Odell Fire58,307Aug 26, 1996Natural
Upper Humboldt Complex (Slaven 2) Fire35,932Aug 26, 1996Natural
Winnemucca Complex (Bloody Run) Fire33,665Aug 26, 1996Natural
Division Fire30,450Aug 1, 1996Natural
Frenchie Fire29,135Sep 10, 1996Natural
Bobs Flat Fire27,972Aug 26, 1996Natural
Upper Humboldt Complex (Getchell) Fire26,598Aug 26, 1996Natural
Winnemucca Complex (Winnemucca) Fire21,367Aug 26, 1996Natural
Humboldt Fire18,800Aug 12, 1996Natural
Rainbow Complex (Mule) Fire17,400Jun 7, 1996Natural
Upper Humboldt Complex (North Chimney) Fire16,600Aug 26, 1996Natural

Every fire of 1996 Nevada 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.