Meta Description- The Yellowstone National Park fire singed around 800000 acres. It occurred because of the unexpected dry spell in June 1988, and it was so massive that only rain or snow could stop the blaze.

Known as the "Wonderland of the West", the Yellowstone National Park turned into a raging inferno in the summer of 1988. This fire is considered cataclysmic for numerous reasons, such as:

·           It burnt nearly 30% of the total land area of the park, covering almost 793,880 acres.

·           The trend of fighting fires changed significantly since the disaster.

·           The property damage is expected to be around $3 million.

What Caused the Fire at Yellowstone National Park in 1988?

Before the summer, there was a wet spring, but unfortunately, the summer turned out to be the driest on record. Then by the end of July, a combination of high winds, lightning, dry fuel, and activities of woodcutters and outfitters made for perfect ammunition for an uncontrollable fire.

But, the good part was that no animals were hurt, and the nearby residents were also asked to leave the area, and all of this was done without any damage.

The major damage was done to the land and the environment as thousands of acres and countless trees were burnt. All this happened because of the parched summer and high winds. Numerous firefighter teams were brought to control the fire, and they spent millions of dollars to stop the fire.

Fighting the Fire

By the middle of July, a huge interagency fire ceasing effort was started at Yellowstone National Park to control the bizarre series of wildfires. Various efforts were made to douse the fire, but fire experts said that only rain or snow could stop it.

The various measures taken for fighting the fire included:

·           Volunteers coming together - As the fires were unstoppable, measures had to be taken. There were around 10,000 people who came together to restore the country's beautiful park. In fact, the founder of the Student Conservation Association, Liz Putnam, also joined it. She also joined the crew and put in long hours every day trying to destroy sections of the burned-out bridge.

·           Integrated Fire and Recreation program - This was a pilot program; in this, SCA joined hands with the US Forest Service. Interns spent 14 weeks in the field trying to implement their learning as they did trail management, work-capacity tests and maintenance education. Interns spent around 404 days on active-duty status for controlling the fire.

Yellowstone’s fire policy

You will be amazed to know that Yellowstone's "Let it Burn" policy did nothing to control the fire. This is a shocking policy, and various reporters, politicians, and even the then US President, Ronald Reagan, became furious after knowing this. He said that he was hitherto unaware of this.

Impact

Months were passing, and there was no control over the fire. In September, the fire started to diminish, but there were already various measures being taken to control it. It was causing a lot of damage to the entire forest, but the good part was that the recovery began immediately. Various plants started blooming again within a couple of months, and the surrounding national forest did some replanting and dispersed grass seeds by plane. Although a few plants took time to grow, within two to five years, things started to become normal.    

FAQs

Q1. Approximately how much area of the park was damaged by the fire?

A1. Around 800000 acres of land were burnt because of the fire. There were five types of fire in the park, and the North Fork fire did the maximum damage as it burnt more than 400000 acres of land.

Q2. What were the weather conditions prior to the year of 1988?

A2. Usually, during summer, Yellowstone experiences afternoon showers three to four days a week. Unfortunately, in 1988, it was completely dry, and there was no rain for around three months.  

Q3. Could the fire be controlled?

A3. Maybe yes, if they tried to control it as soon as it started. But, previously, fire broke out several times, but these stopped naturally after burning a few areas. The rains would come and the fires would stop, but that year there was no rain and nothing like this happened. It stopped in September when it started to snow.

Q4. Did the policies of Yellowstone National Park change after 1988?

A4. Yes, there were a few changes and improvements in the policies in 1992.

Q5. What was the impact on the air around that area?

A5. The smoke and airborne particles affected the surrounding area.