Every fire that has occurred on NPS land has a lesson to teach if we only pay attention. Did fire managers make the wisest decisions? Did they consider all the variables? What can we learn from mistakes?
Looking back more than 25 years after the Yellowstone fires of 1988, we can examine the NPS response and improve plans for working with the media during wildland fires. We can use before and after photos to help the American public understand the history of NPS fire policy, how it has changed, and how it is still evolving. We can tell the stories of fire ecology in the park, of plants that can reproduce only with regular fires, and of the animals and ecosystems that depend on those plants.
Last updated: December 30, 2017