Fire Season Summary

Fire effects crews monitoring the Maple Fire.

NPS / Jessica Page

 

2018 Fires

There were eight fires in Yellowstone in 2018. Seven were lightening caused, while one was the result of an escaped campfire. The largest fire in the park during 2018, the Bacon Rind, started in the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and burned into Yellowstone.

Name	Reported On	Cause	Acres	Status
Pow Wow Fire	September 12	Human-Caused	0.1	Out
Prospect Fire	August 24	Lightning	0.1	Out
Terminal Fire	August 14	Lightning	0.3	Out
Ray Fire	August 14	Lightning	0.1	Out
Basin Creek Fire	August 10	Lightning	32	Out
Folsom Fire	August 4	Lightning	0.1	Out
Bacon Rind Fire (view details on InciWeb)	July 20	Lightning	(view details on InciWeb)	Out
Hayden Fire	July 10	Lightning	0.1	Out

 

2017 Fires

The 2017 fire season had eight fires in Yellowstone with less than one acre burned. Six were the result of human activity and the other two were lightening caused.

Fire Name	Cause	Acres	Status
Marsh	Human	0.1	Out
Canyon	Lightning	0.1	Out
Midway	Human	0.1	Out
Ribbon	Human	0.1	Out
West Boundary	Human	0.1	Out
Potts Basin	Lightning	0.1	Out
Flat Mountain	Human	0.1	Out
Firehole	Human	0.1	Out

2016 Fires

During the 2016 fire season, 22 fires burned more than 70,284 acres (28,442 hectares) in Yellowstone. Seven were the result of human activity such as a campfire, vehicle operation, or cigarettes. The rest were naturally caused by lightning. Eleven fires were suppressed because values were threatened. Many fires were managed to allow them to perform their natural role in the ecosystem. The largest of these fires, the Maple fire, burned over 51,555 acres.

Fire Name	Cause	Acres	Status
Grayling	Lightning	0.1	OUT
Golden	Human	0.1	OUT
Lammar Foot	Human	0.1	OUT
Bluff	Lightning	9	OUT
Black Butte	Lightning	0.7	OUT
Bighorn	Lightning	0.1	OUT
Spasm	Human	0.1	OUT
Cougar	Human	0.1	OUT
Fawn	Lightning	2,706	OUT
Hornaday	Lightning	0.1	OUT
Maple	Lightning	51,555	OUT
Dresser	Human	0.1	OUT
Pocket	Lightning	0.5	OUT
Buffalo	Lightning	13,697	OUT
Boundary	Human	192	OUT
Thumb	Lightning	1.9	OUT
Grayling 2	Lightning	0.88	OUT
Sand	Lightning	0.1	OUT
Central	Lightning	2,129	OUT
Jasper	Lightning	0.1	OUT
Petrified	Lightning	0.1	OUT
Talus	Human	0.1	OUT

 

More Information

• 

  Fire Management

  Balancing the benefits and threats of fire.

• 

  Fire Ecology

  Learn about fire's role in Yellowstone.

• 

  Current Fire Activity

  A list of active fires in the park.