Isle Royale National Park (ISRO) fire history database

This dataset contains fire history records for Isle Royale National Park (ISRO), Lake Superior, Michigan, USA, spanning from 1847 to 2023. The dataset comprises two tabular files and two GIS layers provided as zipped shapefiles. The file ISRO_fire_events.xlsx contains event-level records for individual fires, including information on when and where each fire occurred, its likely cause, and the area burned. The file ISRO_fire_events_sources.xlsx contains bibliographic information for the primary sources used to compile the fire records, such as National Park Service reports and archival documents, along with guidance on how to access each source. The shapefile fire_ignitions contains point locations representing the ignition site of individual fire events. The shapefile fire_extents contains mapped perimeter polygons representing the spatial extent of fires for a subset of fire years. The fire records were compiled from National Park Service internal records, historical literature, and archival documents, which can be accessed by internet search or by contacting the archivist at the National Park Service Lake Superior Collection Management Center.