This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Yellowstone Fires of 1988. Check here over the next few months for information about what has happened since in the world’s first national park. Written material and video will be posted as it becomes available detailing events, reflections, and learning experiences relating to the summer of 1988.
Yellowstone – 20 Years After the Fires of ‘88
West Thumb Geyser Basin Fred Pflughoft
National parks are, at their best, sanctuaries of solace. They are places where nature is let be. Twenty summers ago in Yellowstone National Park the phrase newscasts around the world chanted most was “let it burn.” The National Park Service policy was to allow fires that started naturally (lightning) to burn. Drought conditions and decades of undergrowth fueled the fires – some natural, others man-caused – and strong winds whipped flames upward and onward jumping Yellowstone roads and ripping across forests miles with unrelenting speed and power. Gateways to the park, such as Cody, Wyoming were soon hazy with smoke from Yellowstone and tourism industry officials worried the worldwide perception that the first national park was reduced to charred rubble could plummet business into bankruptcy.
By the third week of July the decision was made (after much national media coverage) to actively seek to suppress all fires in the park. The summer of 1988 in Yellowstone challenged firefighters who bravely arrived by the busload from all over the country. They faced tough terrain, hot weather and next-to-impossible odds, yet prevailed. At one point, Old Faithful Inn was within the grasp of flames but that historic structure miraculously managed to stand as, in the end, all major park facilities would remain intact.
Yellowstone Regrowth Fred Pflughoft
By the time snow fell and the fires were out there was a big job ahead for tourism promoters. Yellowstone was burned but it was not lost. In fact, re-growth began almost immediately in many of the affected areas. But the perception was powerfully projecting a once beautiful park had been destroyed. Teams went on worldwide missions to make clear there was still a Yellowstone and the “mosaic” burn patterns had caused damage but not destruction. Would anyone come back to visit the park? As it turned out curiosity was a powerful elixir. The next summer, and for several after that, visitation records were eclipsed in Yellowstone. People wanted to see for themselves. They learned it was a big park and more than half was untouched by fire.
Old Faithful Inn Pete Saloutos 1990
“When we speak of recovery we’re talking about the rebuilding and restoration of visitor facilities such as trails, picnic areas, campground facilities and other structures destroyed by the fires. We are not speaking here of the natural setting. The natural setting is merely in a different state of its ongoing life processes,” wrote Robert Barbee who was superintendent in Yellowstone during the summer of 1988. “The natural setting does not need recovering,” he said.
Barbee found the fires aftermath to fill the air with many unanswered questions about human perceptions of wild lands and their management. “We still try to apply our value system to natural processes that simply will not accept the application,” said Barbee. “As much as we have to learn about the natural world, we have just as much to learn about our own feelings and attitudes. Nature is not always a gentle hostess, but she never fails to be an inspiring teacher,” Barbee concluded.
There is much to learn during a stay in Yellowstone National Park today:
Wolves in Yellowstone in Winter Yellowstone National Park
• Wolves were re-introduced in the mid-1990s and have now prospered to the point of being removed from the endangered species list.
• New visitor and discovery centers have opened in Yellowstone to provide much greater detail about the park’s ecological makeup and its unique volcanic stature.
• New lodging and restaurant operations, keen on environmental concerns, have been opened to offer a variety of amenities.
• The historic Old Faithful Inn is undergoing a thorough restoration effort.
• New lodging & learning packages give visitors numerous opportunities to spend more time and obtain an in-depth Yellowstone experience.
For package, camping, and lodging information visit: www.travelyellowstone.com and for a full look at the park go to: www.nps.gov/yell
