The results of a study using satellite imagery to map boreal forest fires in Alaska in 1990 and 1991 are presented. Composite AVHRR data detected >80% of fires greater than 2000 ha in size. Additionally, using a two season method, 78% of the area of all boreal forest fires in Alaska was mapped. This technique is considered to be an accurate way to detect forest fire scars and estimate area burned throughout the boreal forests, and could be very important in those regions where wildfire data are presently difficult or impossible to gather.