ABSTRACT
Drought during the spring and summer of 1988 induced the worst western wildfire season of recent times, continuing a trend toward larger fire areas. The summer was the driest on record in the Yellowstone ecosystem, with the most severe string of negative drought indices ever recorded in Wyoming's upper Yellowstone drainage climatic division, and unusually high fire danger indicated by various measures employed by land management agencies. Spring and summer dryness in 1988 pushed the Yellowstone forest ecosystem past a critical threshold where extensive, hot, and often crowning fires became the rule, rather than the exception. The Yellowstone ecosystem experienced a rapid desiccation in 1988 that was aided by a multiyear cumulative dry trend. The Yellowstone ecosystem experienced a rapid desiccation in 1988 that was aided by a multiyear cumulative dry trend. Park rangers and foresters argue that the ecological benefits of the fires outweigh their costs, despite media and public perceptions that the fires "destroyed" large areas.
