Before the late 1960s, fires were generally believed to be detrimental for parks and forests, and management policies were aimed at suppressing fires as quickly as possible. The beneficial ecological role of fire became better understood in the decades before 1988, and a policy of allowing natural fires to burn under controlled conditions had been highly successful in reducing the area lost annually to wildfires. However, by 1988, Yellowstone was overdue for a large fire, and, in the exceptionally dry summer, the many smaller "controlled" fires combined with a lightning caused fire in June burned continuously through Sept 21st when cooler weather finally set in and the area got its first snow. The fires burned out of control, leaping from one patch to another, leaving intervening areas untouched. Large firestorms swept through some regions, burning everything in their paths. Tens of millions of trees and countless plants were killed by the wildfires burning over 700,000 acres and affecting over one million acres total. At the height of the fires, over 9,000 firefighters and support personnel were assigned to Yellowstone at one time, and by the time the fires finally went out more due to weather than fire fighting efforts, more than 25,000 had been involved in the fire suppression efforts. A couple of the photos are from the 88 burn and you can see that the areas are recovering due to planted trees years back. There are other parts of the park that have not recovered where you can view hundreds of acres of downed trees with no new growth. In this case in 1988, the directive to let it burn if it is a naturally caused fire proved to be a major disastrous mistake.

[deaning]

great shots and interesting info, thanks Bob!

[Bob Harris]

great shots and interesting info, thanks Bob!

thanks so much for viewing, glad you enjoyed the thread.

[baro-nite]

Bob, what with your shots from Colorado Springs and now these, you've been giving us a fascinating tour of fires and fire ecology in the western US. Keep on traveling and posting!

[charliezap]

Nicely shot Bob and very informative.--charliezap

[daacon]

Very interesting Bob thanks for the info and shots.

[slowpez]

Really shows the devastation Thanks for the info.

[loco]

Always enjoy reading your info-filled posts and looking at your wonderful photos. These have a documentary feel to them, Bob. Nice work!

[Sailor]

Well done, Bob. That stark first shot might be interesting in B&W.

Jer

[Bob Harris]

Bob, what with your shots from Colorado Springs and now these, you've been giving us a fascinating tour of fires and fire ecology in the western US. Keep on traveling and posting!

I'll tell you Jeff, we are in Glacier NP in Montana and I am afraid if a big fire starts here, someone is going to blame us for it.

[jimr-pdx]

I was in Yellowstone the year before, and my sister hung out in the Cozumel area; I recall that offered to trade her green pictures of Yellowstone for pre-Hugo shots of the Mexican coast. That was some year for large-scale change!

All my life growing up I remember going through the Tillamook Burn in Oregon's coast range, where several large fires left scars. Only a few grey stumps remain in the most rugged areas, but those ghostly slopes still speak to me 50 years later. Thanks for the refresher.

[Bob Harris]

Nicely shot Bob and very informative.--charliezap

Very interesting Bob thanks for the info and shots.

thanks to both, my photography might not be the best, but I try to put a thread out that is interesting. Please send any donations to me so I can continue my quest for the truth.

[Bob Harris]

Really shows the devastation Thanks for the info.

There is one large section there Susan that looks like giant pickup sticks with little tree growth as yet, but this still remains our favorite NP because it is so diverse. I think we will visit the farthest southern part of the park when we are in the Tetons later in the year.

[Bob Harris]

Always enjoy reading your info-filled posts and looking at your wonderful photos. These have a documentary feel to them, Bob. Nice work!

thanks so much for following our travels Lori, I hated to see this happen to the park, it appeared to me there were government agencies in charge that made some extremely bad decisions. If there is a fire in parks like this put them out, that is why we have such huge fire agencies. The thread was a bit of a rant for me. Bob

[Bob Harris]

Well done, Bob. That stark first shot might be interesting in B&W.

Jer

Great idea Jer, I think it would have more of an impact for sure.