Fire history data obtained by means of dendrochronology are an important source of information for such diverse fields as forest management, land-use history, climatology and cultural history. By assessing the position of a fire scar within a tree ring and comparing this information with the phenology of the species' growth, it is possible to infer the seasonality of a fire to the month. Further evidence of this seasonal designation of fire scars can be provided through comparison with historical records, e.g., newspaper reports on forest fires. Another purpose of the presented study was to produce an illustration of tree-ring features caused by fire events occurring in different seasons. Microslides were produced from a cross section of a fire-scarred ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws.) to show the wood-anatomical appearance of the fire scars. The use of stereo microscopes for determining the seasonality codes, as commonly practiced in fire history research, was shown to be an accurate method.