Beyond Yellowstone

Chuck Bushey

With all of the work the IAWF has done to pull together the conference “The Fires of '88: Yellowstone and Beyond,” it was inevitable that I would spend some time reflecting on that particular fire season 20 years ago. I've pulled out boxes of newspaper clippings and fire reports that I saved; rereading those made the events seem like only yesterday.

There always are similarities going into what ends up being a very active wildland fire season, and this year in northern California is no exception. These similarities include widespread regional drought followed by multiple ignitions that eventually stretch firefighting resources to the near-breaking point. In hindsight, these fire events seem almost ordained. But as we go into them, they are much less clear and much more difficult to predict with any degree of certainty — even for the seasoned observer. Only the less experienced among us will venture an early fire season forecast other than the perennial message to the media that dry means an active fire season or wet with fine fuels growing means active fire season. Even with computer models, we still have problems getting it right in advance.

Certainly going into early spring of 1988, our hackles were up following deepening drought and a string of very active fire seasons, but who could tell? All we could say — as we do now — is that the indications were strong that we could be busy. At the end of that long, hot summer, we were exhausted, the media was exhausted, most of the politicians had moved on, and we all thought this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime career experiences. Little did we suspect that 1988 would be the first of ever-intensifying fire seasons.

One outcome from that fire season 20 years past that really surprised me was how fast its veterans faded away. Within a few years, it was hard to find many still-active men and women who had been on those firelines. Of course, there always is turnover of seasonal employees who shoulder the hard, hot, dirty work. But many experienced fire staffers also left. Some were burnt out from dealing with that fire season and the toll it took on personal lives. Many fire friends moved on to retirement and second careers.

The battles that were fought once the snow started to fall also took their toll — who would want to do their professional best and then have their decisions constantly second-guessed by people who never had an ember down their neck? Again in hindsight, those post-1988 fire season reviews were a necessary follow-up to what was a historical event — and to some, seemingly a disaster. When the dust settled, the remaining veterans had new national guidance to implement and a new crop of leaders to move those changing policies forward. In some respects, a generational turnover occurred, but it was a painful turnover with so much experience lost.

A lot has changed, but what has been constant during the intervening years? The public supports the work that we do, and a lot of this support stems from the media barrage during and after 1988. They may not always understand it as we do, especially when we start speaking in fire jargon and acronyms. They may not always practice common sense when living in a fire environment. But they believe that we as wildland fire professionals are doing what we believe best within the limits of our capabilities. Just remember never to underestimate the fire knowledge the public has gained over the last 20 years. They live with our successes and our failures, and they generally know when they're being fed a line. We are all partners on the landscape and with fire.

See you at the conference in Jackson, Wyo., for this truly once-in-a-lifetime event.

International Association of Wildland Fire
3416 Primm Lane
Birmingham, Ala. 35216

ph: 205-824-7614
toll-free: 888- 440-IAWF
iawf@iawfonline.org

To join the IAWF, visit www.iawfonline.org

Send them to: Wildfire Magazine
330 N. Wabash Ave.
Suite 2300
Chicago, Ill. 60611

Attn: Lisa Allegretti lisa.allegretti@penton.com