South Fork Fire
The South Fork Fire burned 10,000 acres in Alaska, in 2002. It was discovered on July 17, 2002, and contained on September 5, 2002. The cause was recorded as natural.
- Size
- 10,000 acres
- Discovered
- July 17, 2002
- Contained
- September 5, 2002
- Cause
- Natural
Map
The burned area boundary MTBS mapped from Landsat imagery, 10,402 acres. Point of origin as reported, 63.270, -156.100.
The record
- Reported final size
- 10,000 acres
- Burned area mapped by MTBS
- 10,402 acres
- Area inside the final perimeter
- 9,750 acres
- Discovered
- July 17, 2002
- Contained
- September 5, 2002
- Cause
- Natural
- State
- Alaska
- Land ownership at origin
- State
- Reporting unit
- Southwest Area
- Agency
- DVF
- Unit
- AKSWS
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2002-AKSWS-000427
- MTBS fire identifier
- AK6324515607320020717
- MTBS assessment
- Extended (SS)
- Fire occurrence record
- SFO-2002AKDNRAK0389-0427
- Perimeter map method
- Mixed Methods
- Note on the perimeter
- Fire perimeter modified using Landsat Image Service and MTBS-Alaska data. Image ID: LE07_L2SP_074016_20030720_20200916_02_T1.
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.