Simels Fire
The Simels Fire burned 365,871 acres in Alaska, in 1997. It was discovered on June 7, 1997, and contained on October 27, 1997. The cause was recorded as natural.
- Size
- 365,871 acres
- Discovered
- June 7, 1997
- Contained
- October 27, 1997
- Cause
- Natural
Map
The final perimeter from the Interagency Fire Perimeter History, 347,861 acres, mapped by not recorded. Point of origin as reported, 63.566, -157.202.
The record
- Reported final size
- 365,871 acres
- Area inside the final perimeter
- 347,861 acres
- Discovered
- June 7, 1997, 7:54 p.m. local time
- Contained
- October 27, 1997, 12:00 p.m. local time
- Cause
- Natural
- State
- Alaska
- Land ownership at origin
- Fish and Wildlife Service
- Reporting unit
- Alaska Fire Service
- Agency
- Bureau of Land Management
- Unit
- AKGAD
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 1997-AKGAD-732280
- Fire occurrence record
- W-9192
- Perimeter map method
- Not Recorded
- Note on the perimeter
- Fire perimeter imported from fire history.
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 Alaska in 199712
| Fire | Acres | Start | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inowak Fire | 606,945 | Jun 25, 1997 | Natural |
| Magitchlie Creek Fire | 308,120 | Jun 10, 1997 | Natural |
| George River Fire | 101,820 | Jun 26, 1997 | Natural |
| Garfield Creek Fire | 76,300 | Jul 22, 1997 | Natural |
| Titnuk Creek Fire | 71,760 | Jun 24, 1997 | Natural |
| Many Lakes Fire | 47,300 | Jul 21, 1997 | Natural |
| West Fork Nixon Fire | 47,060 | Jul 5, 1997 | Natural |
| B 484 Fire | 44,050 | Jul 3, 1997 | Natural |
| Reindeer Fire | 37,900 | Jul 22, 1997 | Natural |
| Kokhila Hills Fire | 36,400 | Jun 8, 1997 | Natural |
| Roketaloi Fire | 35,490 | Jul 3, 1997 | Natural |
| Timber Creek Fire | 27,900 | Jul 4, 1997 | Natural |
Sources
Perimeters from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Interagency Fire Perimeter History, compiled from the Forest Service, BLM, BIA, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, the Alaska Interagency Fire Center and CAL FIRE. 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.