Fire in Yellowstone National Park 1988: Fire Cause.
From 193 1, when the Hart Lake fire destroyed 73 square kilometers (18000 acres), Huangshi National Park began to formally record the fire. Although the scope of the fire was very small, it was the biggest fire in Huangshi National Park from the construction of the park to 1988. Studies have shown that there are two or three fires in Huangshi Plateau every 1 millennium. The last large-scale fire in Huangshi dates back to the beginning of18th century, long before the white people colonized it.
Yellowstone forest is dominated by black pine, which is usually replaced by other tree species when the forest matures after 80 to 100 years. In Huangshi, because of the high latitude and poor soil, the growth period is very short. Before engelmann spruce, subalpine fir and other tree species determine their dominant position, black pine can survive for 300 years. Black pine is distributed in the highlands of Huangshi Plain with high density. Although black pine can be seen in other mature forests, it is not so dense in other forests in the Rocky Mountains. During the period of1980s, many black pine forests in Huangshi National Park have been growing for 200 to 250 years and are coming to the end of their life cycle. 1On August 20th, 988, Norris fire-fighting site was called "Black Saturday", because a large amount of land was burned, and some places were filled with dense smoke from morning till night.
From July to August, about 250 different fires started burning in Huangshi and the surrounding national forests. Among them, 7 burn areas accounted for 95% of the total burn area. By the end of July, the National Park Service and other agencies had mobilized all their manpower, but the fire continued to spread. Small fires spread together, and dry thunderstorms brought strong winds and lightning, but they did not bring rainfall, which aggravated the situation. August 20th was the worst day, which was later called "Black Saturday". More than 665,438+00 square kilometers (65,438+050,000 acres) of land were destroyed. The ash caused by the fire cyclone enveloped the whole park and even drifted to Billings, Montana, 96 kilometers northeast. The wind blew flames across roads and fire exits, and embers started a new fire at 1 mile in front of the original fire. The surface fire has been running all the way to the crown of the forest, becoming a crown fire, with a flame as high as 60 meters (200 feet). On that day, the area burned by Yellowstone National Park exceeded the sum of all the areas burned by fire since the establishment of the park. Throughout the summer, the fire advanced 8- 16 kilometers (5- 10 miles) every day, with the highest record reaching more than 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) per hour.
Shehe fire is one of the larger fire groups. These fires occurred in the south of the park, at the source of yellowstone river and Snake River. Shoshone fire is the largest fire in the group, which was caused by lightning on June 23. At that time, the policy of natural fire management was still effective, so there was no organization to put out the fire at first. The fire smoldered in a small area for several weeks and quickly spread to the northeast on July 20. The surface fire in grant village has been running to the crown of the forest and has become a crown fire.
On July 1 day, Reed Fire started burning near Lake levi. Like the Shoshone fire, it did not spread widely in the first few weeks. On July 19, the fire began to spread to the northeast and was connected with the Shoshone fire in August. When the fire spread to Grant Village, the government issued an evacuation order, so firefighters could concentrate on protecting the building. Grant Village, located in the middle of the black pine forest, is the first important tourist area affected by fire. Many small buildings and some campsites were destroyed. After Rise of the Legend and Shoshone Fire joined together, because the latter was much bigger, they were collectively called Shoshone Fire. The mink fire started burning from the Brij-Dayton National Forest on July 1 1, and was also caused by lightning. After firefighters forced it to leave private land, it spread northward along the Yellowstone Valley. After July 23rd, the Mingke fire finally reached the interior of Huangshi National Park, but because it is located in a remote area of the park, it is generally considered that its harm is not serious. The third fire was the Hawke fire, which was caused by a tree falling on a power line on August 20. The fire burned mainly along the Rockefeller Memorial Expressway and crossed the southern boundary of Huangshi on August 30. By the time the Shehe fire was put out due to wet weather in autumn, it had burned more than 570 square kilometers (140,000 acres). The most amazing thing during this period is that when the fire swept through the levi River Gorge on August 23rd, the diffusion speed reached 65,438+028 km (80 miles) per hour under the action of the wind of 96 km (60 miles) per hour,1July-June, 988 to1June, 988, the fire process in the Greater Huangshi area.
On July 9, the fire started burning from the Abu Saloka ridge in the east of the park. Two days later, a fire broke out in clover in the same area. On July 20, two fires spread together, known as Mr. Clover Fire. Because of the rugged terrain, it is difficult to put out the fire. On August 20th, the fire spread to the south of Cook Town and threatened the town for several weeks. Overall, Mr. Clover fire destroyed more than 570 square kilometers (140,000 acres). On July 4th, 65438, the storm creek fire started burning from Abu Sarroca-Xiong Ya wildlife area. It doesn't seem to hurt Huangshi much in two months. However, on August 20, the fire spread rapidly to the south, this time endangering the northern part of Cook Town. Firefighters tried to control the mountain fire and adopted a special backfire method. Combustible materials are arranged in front of the burning direction of the fire, and another fire is ignited for backfire, so as to achieve the purpose of extinguishing the fire with fire. As a result, this method is self-defeating and almost leads to disaster. Due to the sudden change of wind direction, the flame jumped within 0/00 yards from the town/kloc-,which made it necessary to evacuate people on September 6. The main fire in the north of the park is the Helloling fire, which started burning in Galatin National Park on August 15. The cause of the fire was the embers of an unattended bonfire. The fire began to spread to the north and turned to the south a few days later, threatening the area near the tower connection. On July 5, the fire began to burn in the northwest, which was initially thought to threaten Gardner, Montana, outside the north exit of the park. This is 1988' s most successful fire fighting campaign. Although the fire burned for several months, by mid-August, it was no longer considered as a threat to life and property.
No matter from the number of burned buildings or the burning area, the North Fogg fire is the biggest one. On July 22nd, a lumberjack abandoned his cigarette in caribou-Tay National Forest on the west border of the park, which caused a fire to burn. The North Fogg fire was the only fire that was put out after it was discovered, because it happened after the original fire control policy was suspended on July 15. On the first weekend of August, the fire spread to the northeast, threatening Madison intersection and nearby camping sites. On August 20th, the fire quickly spread to norris geyser basin. Firefighters used water and foam to protect buildings from fire. The fire continued to spread westward along the Huangshi Plateau and reached the visitor center of the Grand Canyon in Huangshi National Park on August 25th. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. military deployed a lot of manpower to protect local buildings. A few days later, the fire on the east side was put out, and the downwind of Huangshi Canyon threatened the fire on the west side to West Huangshi Town. Ordinary people help government-sent personnel soak hundreds of acres of forest land to protect towns and power stations. The fire destroyed most of the forests in Madison Valley. 1On September 7th, 988, the fire in North Fogg spread to the Old Faithful Spring Building.
From September 5 to 7, the southern flame of the North Fogg fire reached a large tourist area near the Laozhong Shiquan Basin. All non-staff members were ordered to evacuate. However, political issues affected the command of the US Park Service, and the scenic spot was not completely closed to tourists. Some tourists still visited the old faithful spring until the fire whirlwind spread there in the afternoon. The fire plane was doused with flame retardant, but it failed. Firefighters concentrate on protecting buildings, especially those important buildings with a long history, such as the old faithful spring hotel. They use fire engines and mobile water pump systems to keep roofs and other surfaces of buildings wet. 1, 200 firefighters, including 1, 200 soldiers, dug the line of fire and cleaned up the flammable materials around the building. The wind speed reached 128 km (80 miles) per hour, and the fire was approaching from the west. Eventually the fire spread to the nearby forest and left the main building, but the 19 building and an old dormitory were destroyed. The fire was fierce, and the wheels of those vehicles that did not evacuate melted, the windshield was broken and the car paint was burnt. Although most of the buildings in Old Faithful Spring have been preserved, on September 8th, the Park Service decided for the first time that the whole park would be closed to non-emergency personnel. On the evening of September 9th and the morning of 10, the fire in North Fogg crossed a line of fire in the northeast and approached Mammoth Hot Springs, where there are a large number of historical buildings and the headquarters of the Park Service. The timely arrival of rain and snow put out the fire before it threatened the building. The fire in North Fogg was finally put out, and its burned area exceeded 1600 square kilometers (400,000 acres), accounting for 60% of the total burned area of the park. On September 1 1 day, cold air brought rain and snow, and the fire in the whole Yellowstone ecosystem was gradually extinguished. Although the fire was still burning in mid-June at 5438+065438+ 10, it no longer threatened the safety of life and property. Many firefighters began to retreat, and others arrived in Yellowstone National Park one after another to restore the damaged area to its original state. Hundreds of miles of fire lines, helicopter landing areas and fire camps need to be restored. Thousands of dangerous dead trees need to be cut down to protect roads and buildings. Finally, in June165438+1October 18, all the fires in Huangshi were extinguished.