The 1988 fires ended up burning a total of 11% of the Greater Yellowstone Area's forests, and took 45% of the Yellowstone National Park area with it. How did the fires start, and how did they spread so rapidly and uncontrollably? The Ecological Assesment Panel reports that te fires followed a quite typical scenario for the region - a prolonged drought struck the area, then a rash of ignitions from dry lightning storms and human interference, followed by a steady increase in fire size and intensity through the month of July, resulting in a huge fire-storm-like complex of huge burns in late August and into the beginning of September. The Yellowstone fires were considered a bit
atypical because very large fires had burned in the past under climatic conditions less severe than those experienced in the Greater Yellowstone Area in 1988, although portions of the Northern Rockies that suffered similar conditions in 1988 made it through the dry season with far less burning. Ecologists report that the behavior and extent of the 1988 fires appear to have been influenced directly by drought and wind. Though the precipitation levels were considered to be above normal in April and May, there were dramatic decreases during the month of June (a recorded 20% less than normal), July (approximately 79% less), and August (approximately 10% less). This resulted in the year 1988 being recorded
SUMMER OF FIRE, 1988
The fires that struck the Greater Yellowstone Area during the summer of 1988 shocked and appalled both civilians and ecologists alike due to their size and intensity. They were the largest fire complex ever recorded for that area, and subsequently the Northern Rockies during the past 50 years.
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