Facilities, Operations, and Recovery

Vehicle
Assistant Chief Ranger Miller with new bear cage, YELL 42906

Yellowstone’s team of facility management, operations, and scientific staff keep the park running smoothly. Specialized vehicles are used to maintain roads, empty vault toilets, fix trails, and perform scientific research and surveys to keep the park as wild as possible while keeping visitors safe. Yellowstone National Park has experienced numerous natural disasters since its establishment in 1872, including extreme shifts in weather, earthquakes, fires, and floods. Rising visitation has also led to increased automobile accidents, negative human-wildlife interactions, and search and rescue operations.

For most of the park’s history, fire management aimed to control and extinguish all fires when possible. In the early years, fires were “put out” by clearing brush and trees around the burn site and relying on the wind not picking up. Rubber buckets were used to haul water to the fire from a local source. Later, hoses and pumps, along with more modern fire trucks, transported water from surrounding areas to the fire. In the 1970s, Yellowstone’s fire management strategy shifted towards allowing some natural fires to burn and perform their ecological role while preventing property damage and human injury. This has led to an increase in monitoring fires from planes and helicopters.

When visitors or staff are in dire situations, Search and Rescue (SAR) teams are dispatched to locate and assist them. Helicopters are also used for difficult mountain or canyon rescue operations. For more common trail rescues, litters consisting of a sled and rope are used. Most litters are designed to be carried by several people, and others can be balanced on wheels when the ground is level.

Yellowstone experienced a 500-year flood in 2022 that caused rockslides, mudslides, and flooding that destroyed sections of several park roads. After the flooding, considerable time and funding was invested to repair the roads and reconnect the North and Northeast entrances to the park.

Last updated: June 10, 2024

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