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Yellowstone National ParkBull moose grazing in stream.
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Yellowstone National Park
Fire Facts
  • In an average year approximately 24 fires are ignited in Yellowstone by lightning.
  • About 83% of naturally ignited fires in Yellowstone never reach more than 0.5 hectare (1.2 acre) in size.
  • About 94% of fires in Yellowstone never burn more than 40 hectares (100 acres).
  • In Yellowstone, on average, fires are detected at 3:03 in the afternoon-- fires burn most vigorously during the heat of the day, causing tall smoke plumes to be seen by fire lookouts or sharp-eyed park visitors.
Fire in Yellowstone Pineland in 1988  

Did You Know?
The 1988 fires affected 793,880 acres or 36 percent of the park. Five fires burned into the park that year from adjacent public lands. The largest, the North Fork Fire, started from a discarded cigarette. It burned more than 410,000 acres.

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Last Updated: June 18, 2007 at 10:29 EST