Case Report: The Yellowstone National Park Fires

The Yellowstone National Park wildfire of 1988 is nothing that is unheard of when it comes to our country’s natural disasters. This specific wildfire was remarkable considering that it was the largest fire complex ever recorded in the Greater Yellowstone Area. It was the summer of 1988 when it actually occurred, and this area was dealing with a severe drought. The setting to create the perfect fire consisted of a wet spring where dry winds reached up to sixty miles per hour, a humidity level reaching as low as six percent, and deadwood lying all across the forest floor struck by lightning. Not forgetting to mention the factor of human carelessness contributed to the destruction (Elfring). This event burned 3.7 million acres of land, and approximately 1.4 million of the Greater Yellowstone Area alone. In the end eleven percent of the GYA had been burned. The fires began in June and continued burning until November …show more content…
However, we were very lucky that our ecosystems overall did not suffer by any means. On the other hand, it was unlikely that any fire plan could have foreseen an event this size to happen (Agee). In terms of mitigating, several western communities in the United States have conducted risk assessments to create a safer community. A group has also been created called the Conservation Education for Fire, Fuel and Smoke Program to educate people about the wild land around them. The main goals of the program are to increase awareness, improve the understanding of fundamental concepts in wild land science, and to promote interest for wildlife management (Masters). I think that the most important thing that we need to do to future prepare for possible disasters is to know what to do in these situations. We must be educated on what is capable of happening in these areas, and take precautions because we simply just never know when another disaster could