The Year Yellowstone Burned by Jeff Henry

Towering cumulus clouds formed above each fire, creating their own weather and lightning, which sparked new fires. Henry covers them all how they started, how they grew, who was on the front lines, and how the flames were finally controlled by thousands of firefighters, and lots of ground and aerial machinery, and the weather. There was the North Fork fire, the Mink, the Huck, and the Clover. The narrative starts on June 30, 1988, when a number of fires were smoldering in the backcountry, and then follows the fire’s wrath day by day, accompanied by terrific maps that show the conflagration’s spread. In fact, fire is nature’s way of cleaning up after itself. He of course reiterates the obvious that Yellowstone has always had fire, will always have fire, and that the plateau has survived.

Henry’s words and photos hit home for both of us. I was on assignment for Flying Magazine covering the aircraft scene, and Editor Kurt Repanshek was there for The Associated Press. Jeff Henry’s new book is a great look back at those smoke-filled days, especially for those at National Parks Traveler. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a quarter-century since the massive fires burned through Yellowstone National Park that summer of 1988.

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The Year Yellowstone Burned by Jeff Henry