Primary document
Yellowstone Fire Management Records Finding Aid
U.S. National Park Service
Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
-
Fires · June–November 1988Open article references →
The Yellowstone Fires of 1988
Yellowstone National Park fire landscape · United States
Why editors use it hereOfficial archival guide documenting 1988 ignitions, operations, reports, maps, photographs, and policy records.
-
Quick read
During the exceptionally dry summer of 1988, multiple lightning- and human-caused fires burned across Yellowstone National Park and surrounding forests.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Trigger and conditions
Early lightning fires remained relatively small, but July dryness and wind caused rapid spread.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Uncertainty
The often-cited 36 percent refers to park acreage within fire perimeters, not land uniformly consumed; burn severity varied greatly.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Why it matters
Yellowstone changed the public image of fire from simple enemy toward an ecological process that can still exceed management capacity.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
-
Quick read