Headlines: Fires Lay Waste
to Yellowstone National Park
BOZEMAN, MONTANA. September 30, 1988.
More than half of Yellowstone National Park has gone up
in flames this summer in an unprecedented series of wildfires
that have claimed 650,000 hectares of the region's forest.
Park Observer Reporter's Log:
Yellowstone National Park, summer 1998
B.C.: Before Combustion
June 1, 1988
As Memorial Day weekend marked the
start of the summer season at Yellowstone National Park,
park officials looked less than enthusiastic. Could it be
the weather? 1988 is shaping up to be one of the driest
years on record. Very little snow fell this past winter,
and spring rains have turned out to be more myth than reality.
"I've never seen the pine needles so dry at this time
of year," commented one Memorial Day camper. Could
park officials be worrying about the billions of cubic feet
of accumulated litter sitting on the forest floor? We're
holding our breath.
June 15
Yellowstone's forests are parched,
parched, parched and begging for rain; yet, instead of rain,
they are getting unusually dry, warm winds, with record
low humidity readings. A reliable source said some of the
live lodgepole pine trees in the forests have less moisture
in them than dead wood dried in a kiln! Dry winds, extremely
dry fuels, no rain — under these conditions, every bolt
of lightning is like a match thrown on straw. What is Mother
Nature doing?
Wildfires!
June 26
It has happened. Two fires have flared
up within Yellowstone's borders. One, which firefighters
have dubbed the Shoshone Fire, began with a lightning bolt
in the south end of the park three days ago, and the second,
now called the Fan Fire, lit up the Gallatin Range just
inside the northwest boundary yesterday.
July 13
As of this writing, seven fires are
raging in or on the borders of Yellowstone National Park,
yet this has not spoiled the plans of the tens of thousands
of visitors streaming into the park. Officials continue
to follow their relatively new, natural-burn policy; but
as small fires balloon into major fires, critics are becoming
incensed. In my humble opinion, as an intern, this might
be a good time to put out some of those fires. And maybe
we'd better get some rain dances going.
July 16
Looks like park officials read my
articles, because yesterday they announced that all new
fires in the forest, regardless of whether they were started
by lightning or by humans, will be fought. In spite of their
action, experts fear as many as 81,000 hectares of forest
may go up in flames.
July 22
Firefighters announce the start of
another fire. Dubbed the North Fork Fire, this one was apparently
started when someone, gathering wood in a neighboring national
forest, dropped a lit cigarette. Still no rain, and strong
winds have been pushing the ever-growing infernos along
at a brisk pace.
July 26
The Shoshone Fire is heading directly
for Grant Village, and the village is being evacuated. Over
500 firefighters are working around the clock to keep the
fire from destroying buildings, but they are not optimistic.
Where is the rain??!!
August 22
Firefighters dubbed August 20th "Black
Saturday." In a single day more than 65,000 hectares
of forest succumbed to the hellish flames of a dozen advancing
fires. Winds of more than 110 km. per hour threatened to
sweep fires over the historic Norris Museum, but firefighters
were able to save the building.
August 25
Fires hit Bozeman! Actually, smoke
from the fires has reached us. Scientists report that smoke
has risen as high as 16 km. into the atmosphere, and now
it is coming down on our town, 72 km. north of the northern
park boundary. The elderly and infirm are urged to stay
inside because of the pollution in the air. What next?!
September 7
A back-fire, intentionally set by
firefighters to protect the town of Cooke City, almost burns
the town down when the winds suddenly shift. On another
front, the historic wooden buildings of Old Faithful came
perilously close to being destroyed; but, as of this writing,
they are still standing.
September 10
Park officials finally admit defeat;
and, for the first time since the fires started, they have
closed the entire park to the public. It is a sad day.
September 11
Snow!!!!!!!!! Two inches of glorious
wet snow have fallen over much of Yellowstone. Hallelujah!
October 11
Although a few fires are still burning,
Yellowstone Park officials are assuring the public that
the fire situation is now totally under control. At the
same time, statistic-makers are summing up the disaster.
With ten thousand firefighters and military units, dozens
of helicopters and spotting planes, hundreds of fire engines,
1,600 km. of fire lines, millions of liters of water and
retardants, the firefighting efforts in Yellowstone are
the largest ever undertaken, anywhere. It is estimated that
$120 million has been spent to battle these fires; the entire
annual park budget pales in comparison - a mere $17.5 million.
The results of these efforts are less impressive: the fires
have burned more than 650,000 hectares in the region around
Yellowstone, some 325,000 in the park alone; and, in the
end, it was Mother Nature who put the fires out. Nearly
every visitor complex in Yellowstone and every community
just outside the park was threatened, but - and here's where
the firefighters can take a bow - only four people were
killed (three when a firefighting helicopter crashed), and
no major structures were damaged or destroyed.
Footnote: This log is based
upon fact. All characters names have been changed. Any similarities
to persons past or present is coincidental. The actual source
for this material is the book Yellowstone and the Fires
of Change, written by George Wuerthner.
Review Questions
- Describe the conditions present in Yellowstone just prior to the 1988 fires.
- What actions were taken by park officials to protect people from the fire?
- What resources were used in attempts to suppress the 1988 fires?