Looking out the airplane window, it was a hellish
scene. My Yellowstone, a place I have
loved forever, was changing right before my eyes. Fire was destroying it and I seriously
wondered if it would ever be the same again.
That was my
exact thought as I piloted a small, single engine airplane over the vast
expanse of Yellowstone National Park in the early fall of 1988 during the fires
that year.
Flying with me
on that day was the late Larry Hastings, one of the best pilots and instructors
in Wyoming history. Also along and
helping take photos was the late Mike McClure, a legend in his own right, as a
premier photographer.
Both men lived
in Lander. We had been talking about making this flight for some time.
It was my
bright idea. We had seen TV coverage of
the fire but no one seemed to have a good aerial view. I always want to figure out a way to take a
big picture in the easiest way possible and flying over the park seemed the
best plan.
Hastings was
aware of the altitude restrictions, which caused us to fly quite high as we
soared over the world’s oldest national park while it was literally burning up.
The view was
impressive because as far as the eye could see was smoke. It was unimpressive because it was almost impossible
to make out landmarks.
What was
visible were a large number of hotspots where fire would shoot 300 feet in the
air. It was hot down there. The park I loved was going to be changed
forever.
That event
three decades ago was unprecedented in the history of the National Park
Service. There were contrasting programs
of fire suppression and “controlled burns” in place, which caused the people
responsible for the park’s existence to be incapable of dealing with the
conflagration.
The Park
Superintendent was Bob Barbee, who became known as “Barbecue Bob.”
Today we are
again enduring smoky air and brilliant sky scenes from California fires. Back in 1988, cities
and towns in a wide circle around the park enjoyed the most colorful sunsets in
history. Here in Lander, which is a
two-hour drive southeast from YNP, the evening views were unprecedented. Like now, it was an awful time for folks with
respiratory problems.
Numbers do a
good job of telling the Yellowstone Fire story.
It covered some 800,000 acres or over one third of the park.
Much like many
mountain areas today in Wyoming, the park was overdue for a huge fire
event. Extremely dry conditions (drier
than ever measured before) plus controlled burns plus accidents plus mountain pine beetle tree kills plus
lightning, well, the die was cast. Though hellish at the time, those fires
improved the health of Yellowstone’s forests. Often, the West’s ecological
health often depends on fire.
Some 250
different fires ignited between June and September in the park and the
surrounding national forests. Seven fires caused 95 percent of the damage. Fighting
the fires in 1988 cost $120 million, which is $230 million in today’s dollars –
almost a quarter of a billion dollars.
Biggest fire
was the North Fork fire, which was started July 22 by a cigarette dropped by a
man cutting timber in the neighboring Targhee National Forest.
Aug. 20 was
dubbed Black Sunday as more than 150,000 acres were consumed in a single day.
On that day, one of the biggest fires, called the Huck Fire, started when a
tree fell on a power line near Flagg Ranch.
This fire burned in the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway and
then crossed into Yellowstone on Aug. 30.
One of the
most amazing scenes of this fire was when embers from it were sent airborne
across the massive Lewis Lake by 80 mph winds, setting new fires on the other
side of the lake. Firefighters were hopeful the lake would provide a natural
firebreak. Alas it did not.
This complex
of fires burned 140,000 acres and was finally extinguished when some welcome snow
and rains fell later that fall.
It took
valiant efforts by more than 13,000 firefighters, 120 helicopters and slurry
bombers, plus National Guard and civilians. But to little avail. Important structures like Old Faithful Inn
and the Lake Hotel were saved but efforts to completely stop the fires proved
to be impossible.
Mother Nature
wanted those fires to burn and they did until she was ready to put them out.
On that day 30
years ago we were flying above a scene right out of Dante’s Inferno. I experienced
a memory that I would like to forget yet will always recall.
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