Essay On Yellowstone National Park Fire

On April 29, 1910, the largest forest fire in American history occurred. Some would come to know it as the Big Burn, or the Big Blowup. Later others called it the (the one that says it saved American landscape.) This travesty took more than 100 men. The impact it had on Americans was monumental. Timothy Egan’s The Big Burn, he writes about the many people who perished during this disaster. Stories of people who were engulfed by the flames at Bitterroot Mountain who had little chance of escaping their devastating fate. Even though this is still seen as a travesty, some look at it in a different way. Due to how large the fire was and how far it stretched, it made people aware of the importance to protect Americas forests and natural resources. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, reform was occurring. The United States population was on a rise which had an effect on economic growth. This caused expansion in the consumer market and made way for an enormous amount of advancement in technology. Due to all of this, the demand for natural resources vastly increased. Inventions such as cars and trains consumed massive amounts of fossil fuels. Wood was stripped away from forests to make comfort items such as chairs, tables and other items for the large number of families now setting in the United States from foreign countries. People did not seem to pay much attentions to the effects these changes were having on the land. However, President Theodor Roosevelt had

It will also produce for Nitrogen into the soil, to help more plants and vegetation grow in the future. With the Nitrogen and other additional nutrients in the soil it is helping farmers with their crops getting the nutrients it needs. Fires can also clear forests of insect infestations and potential diseases Warren (2011). Among the other benefits of prescribed burning are: Insect pest control, Removal of exotic, or non-species that compete with native species for nutrients and other needs, Fires occurring in nature can restore ecological balance and facilitate regeneration Warren

There are also so many animals that go along with the damage from the fires because they are living in the middle of it and do not have any where to go. It makes sense that actions such as controlled burns should be done because so much could be prevented. Then again there are so many people who argue against them because they are a disruption to the environment. “Fire experts argue that prescribed burns are vital for reducing the risk of catastrophic blazes and restoring ecosystems that evolved with fire” (Tobin 2). If a great deal of damage could be prevented, I do not see why there should be any concern. This is especially important when you look at what more damage is done to the environment during a huge forest fire compared to on from a petite controlled burn.

Imagine a single event that can kill 57 people and 7000 deer and elk. Snap trees like a toothpick, and turn the sky grey for 15 days. Now, stop imagining, Mount St. Helens, in the Cascade Range of southwestern Washington State, erupted. On May 18th,1980. According to (Campbell 371), “At least $1 billion in economic damage was reported”. The eruption of Mount St. Helens took many lives, and devastated America. Mount St. Helens destroyed more than 230 square miles of ancient forest.

This all happened because yellowstone was named one of the many rehabilitation places where the gray wolf species would recover after almost being whipt out entirely in the west of the rockies.The wolves were brought to yellowstone from another part of the country.The rehabilitation was called a success so the federal government made a ackt to tack them of the endangered species list after a so called complete recovery but the scientist said that the wolves were not yet at a point to go to the game and wildlife control so they sud the government to stop them frum taking them of the endangered species

The Rim Fire of 2013 ravaged the slopes of the Stanislaus National Forest leaving many areas severely burned and unable to recover. Restoration efforts have been made and 56,000 saplings were planted in 2016 in the most severely burned areas; but the forest still has a long way to recovery. Fires are a naturally occurring hazard in the Stanislaus National Forest, and have contributed to the replenishment, control, and sustainability of the forest; but fires of the Rim Fire's intensity are very rare. The Rim Fire destroyed over 277,314 acres of habitat, harmed many mature trees, and ruined the layers of topsoil, and increased erosion and runoff. The devastation of the Rim Fire would not be have been so intense if it weren’t for past fire

On May 18th, 1980 one of the worst volcanic eruptions occurred in the United States. Triggered by an earthquake, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State at 8:39am. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it was "the deadliest and most economically destructive event in the history of the United States." There were many effects from this terrible, natural event. People, animals, and the environment were all effected.

Senator Alan Simpson speaks out on wildfire. In Chapter 29, he mentioned that even though the Park Service authorities knew the area was dangerous, they continued with the let it burn policy. Simpson also said that the result of the let it burn policy is that Yellowstone has been hurt by the people whose job was to protect it (Chapter 29). Simpson says it is no longer safe to continue with that type of policy and people should act on an active stewardship to prevent further disasters.

The fire began as the result of an out-of-control campfire, and because of high wind and drought conditions which resulted in low fuel-moisture spread relatively quickly for an upland fire in the southeastern United States, although not to the scale of western wildfires. Even though the 2000 Linville Gorge fire was mainly a surface fire, the fire burned 4,000 hectares of wilderness area, and forced local management agencies to start paying more attention to upland ecosystems that were not previously thought to be fire-dependent. Considering the magnitude of the fire, it was fortunate that no human lives or homes were lost in the inferno. Vegetative studies show that Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia), an evergreen shrub, reproduced much faster than other understory species (Dumas, Neufeld, & Fisk, 2007). This is attributed to its ability to resprout following a fire. The Linville Gorge Fire has been significant in shaping Southeastern fire mitigation in that it gave foresters an opportunity to study oak-pine forests that had not seen fire for over 50

The fire had destroyed the grasslands and trees that grew along the canyons of the

The rising number of high severity wildfires in California has significant ecological, economic, and health impacts. Many western American forests are adapted to frequent low severity fires. However, the majority of these forests, and particularly the mixed conifer forests of California, are not adapted to high intensity fires and do not possess fire resistance adaptations such as serotinous cones to protect seeds. Consequently, high severity fires have significant negative impacts on California forests, and the absence of low severity fires has considerably altered many fundamental ecosystem processes (Miller et al. 2008). Prior to 1900, low severity fires would burn every 6-15 years. Low severity fires are generally non-lethal, have minimal change to the overstory, and kill mainly small trees. In the past, these fires were started naturally by lightning, or by Native Americans who used low severity fires to manage the forests.

The third eruption happened about 640,000 years ago, and spewed 240 cubic miles of material. This third eruption created the third and largest of Yellowstone’s calderas, Yellowstone Caldera, which is 30 by 45 miles in size. The pyroclastic lava flows from this eruption formed the north wall of the caldera and are visible from the south-facing cliffs east of Madison. (Solcomhouse) This third eruption is said to have vaporized an entire mountain range. Smaller eruptions have also helped to shape Today’s Yellowstone, such as one that occurred 174,000 years ago and created what is now the “West Thumb” of Yellowstone Lake. (National Park Service) Many sources say that a catastrophic eruption, such as those that have formed the three calderas at Yellowstone, is unlikely during the next several hundred years, but if one such eruption did occur it would devastate much of the United States and would have the potential to alter the global climate.

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Wildfire means “a sweeping and destructive conflagration esp. in a wilderness or a rural area.” Also according to the same dictionary, wilderness means “a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings.” Forest Fires happen when there is a drought because branches and twigs die and dry out creating plenty of fuel for a fire. According to the NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center) there are about 105,534 wildfires that occur each year.

While not all the effects of prescribed burns are known some are very evident. The first of these common effects is that vegetation and fallen dead material are burned creating an open forest floor. This eliminates any fuel that could contribute to a high intensity fire in the future. When the fire burns the organic material in the forest, nutrient rich ash is left behind. When the first rain comes, the nutrients in the ash dissolve into the soil for the new plants to use. This process is called nutrient recycling. These nutrients left in the soil are a good source of food for the young plants that will begin to grow back. Another outcome of prescribed fire is that new growth begins immediately after the fires have been extinguished. Within

Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1).