The Year Yellowstone Burned

June 22, 2015
Park ranger, writer, and photographer Henry (Yellowstone's Rebirth by Fire) revisits the 1988 Yellowstone National Park wildfires, which burned for at least three months and affected more than 35% of the park. According to Henry, the fires in Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988 were not unexpected, but they nonetheless wreaked havoc. He charts the fires' progress from the end of June through the middle of September, when light rain and snow finally began to fall. Climate conditions played a large role: the fires, touched off by lightning strikes, endured because of "extremely hot weather that developed early and persisted throughout the entire summer, along with abnormally strong winds, and an almost complete lack of significant precipitation." Henry describes the ways in which firefighters tried to manage the spread of the fires, the camps that were set up for work crews, and the overwhelming smoke clouds that formed. He reminds audiences that fires, as part of a cycle of rebirth and renewal, are "an integral element in natural ecosystems." Though Henry's writing lacks fluidity, his wonderful photographs included in the book help to convey the extraordinary power such wildfires contain and the massive impact they had on the landscape. Photos.

Starred review from March 1, 2015

In 1988 nearly 800,000 acres (36 percent) of Yellowstone National Park burned. Former park superintendent Bob Barbee, writing in the foreword, states that the "fires still challenge the psyche" and describes them as "the greatest single event in our national parks history." Freelance writer Henry had a front-row seat that summer, working as a National Park Service ranger and as an official park photographer to document the fires and the fire-fighting efforts. The introduction gives a historical overview of fire in Yellowstone and fire's role in the ecosystem. The dry conditions, hot temperatures, and abundant fuel sources present in 1988 created perfect conditions for fires, caused both by lightning and by humans, to spread into and across the park. Henry delineates chapters by dates beginning June 30, 1988, and ending September 12, 1988. His description of the fire moving into the Old Faithful area on September 7 is dazzling--all these years later and one can almost see and feel the flames. Maps outline the growth of the fires, and Henry's narrative offers descriptive analysis. VERDICT The author's stunning photographs and the firsthand observations and opinions are the highlights of this book and make it a must-have.--Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2015
Although Yellowstone National Park has seen its share of wildfires over the centuries, perhaps none was more disastrous than the one that consumed more than 35 percent of the park's vast acreage in the summer of 1988. As a veteran Yellowstone guide and firefighter, Henry was on-site during the conflagration, witnessing and photographing much of the damage. In this absorbing retrospective report on the inferno 25 years later, Henry highlights the key events that combined to create the perfect firestorm and offers lessons for preventing a recurrence in Yellowstone and other protected lands. After an opening historical chapter listing other significant burns that happened in the Yellowstone basin, many deliberately started by Native Americans, Henry gives a blow-by-blow chronological account of the fire's beginnings and rapid spread. Along with revealing photos and maps, the narrative offers many vivid personal anecdotes, including Henry's own chilling description of a smoky mushroom cloud during the fire's early days. National-park enthusiasts and everyone interested in environmental matters will find Henry's account both gripping and informative.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)