History
The National Park Service’s mission, unique among federal agencies, has made its history of fire policy diverge from that of its peers. See the changes and advancements of wildland fire practices and perspectives through history.
View the multimedia presentation of Fire History.
A Test of Adversity and Strength:
Wildland Fire in the National Park System
by Hal K. Rothman
National parks and fire have an intimate and unbreakable relationship. But since the 1872 establishment of Yellowstone National Park—the world’s first national park—the desire to suppress, control, and manage fire has been an integral part of the management of federal park areas.
Download Entire Document, 263 pages (3.74 mb)
Part I: Fight, Control, Exclude: The Era of Suppression 1872-1967
Chapter 2: The Development of a Fire Management Structure
Chapter 3: A Decade of Transformation: The New Deal and Fire Policy
Chapter 4: Ecology and the Limits of Suppression. Includes photo section
Part II: Put Fire Back In . . . But When, Where, and How?
Chapter 5: Allowing Fire in the National Park System
Chapter 6: Institutionalizing a Structure for Fire Management
Chapter 7: Yellowstone and the Politics of Disaster
