By tracking post-fire tundra recovery up to 90 years using satellite radar across North America, this study reveals that while annual permafrost degradation stabilizes within 7–13 years, seasonal deformation and elevated soil moisture persist for roughly 50 years. This study moves beyond localized, single-site studies to establish a scalable, regional framework across diverse permafrost zones. Ultimately, these findings resolve a major spatial gap in permafrost research by proving that recovery timelines are strongly controlled by regional thermal regimes, providing crucial observational constraints for Earth system models and climate research.