Bear Creek Fire
The Bear Creek Fire burned 59,939 acres in Alaska, in 2002. It was discovered on May 26, 2002, and contained on July 29, 2002. The cause was recorded as natural.
- Size
- 59,939 acres
- Discovered
- May 26, 2002
- Contained
- July 29, 2002
- Cause
- Natural
Map
The burned area boundary MTBS mapped from Landsat imagery, 71,707 acres. Point of origin as reported, 63.699, -156.336.
The record
- Reported final size
- 59,939 acres
- Burned area mapped by MTBS
- 71,707 acres
- Area inside the final perimeter
- 62,615 acres
- Discovered
- May 26, 2002, 6:57 p.m. local time
- Contained
- July 29, 2002, 12:00 p.m. local time
- Cause
- Natural
- State
- Alaska
- Land ownership at origin
- State
- Reporting unit
- Alaska Fire Service
- Agency
- DVF
- Unit
- AKSWS
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2002-AKSWS-000212
- MTBS fire identifier
- AK6379315629220020526
- MTBS assessment
- Initial
- Fire occurrence record
- W-112752
- Perimeter map method
- Image Interpretation
- Note on the perimeter
- Fire perimeter modified using Landsat Image Service.
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 200212
| Fire | Acres | Start | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geskakmina Lake Fire | 257,549 | Jun 8, 2002 | Natural |
| Reindeer Fire | 226,833 | Jul 17, 2002 | Natural |
| Vinasale Fire | 189,688 | May 22, 2002 | Human |
| Yetna River Fire | 152,962 | Jul 18, 2002 | Natural |
| Sischu Fire | 128,983 | Jun 5, 2002 | Natural |
| Moose Lake Fire | 117,920 | Jul 17, 2002 | Natural |
| Milepost 78 Fire | 115,328 | May 23, 2002 | Human |
| Colorado Creek Fire | 84,015 | May 26, 2002 | Natural |
| Long Creek Fire | 74,931 | Jul 21, 2002 | Natural |
| Galatea Creek Fire | 74,511 | May 22, 2002 | Natural |
| Windy Fire | 69,523 | Jul 17, 2002 | Natural |
| Spurs Fire | 64,834 | May 15, 2002 | Human |
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. 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.