Scorched Earth

278 pp. In 1988, forest fires raged across Yellowstone National Park, destroying more than a million acres. As the nation watched the area around Old Faithful burn, an old debate, which is still ongoing, reached a fever pitch: should fires be suppressed immediately or allowed to run their natural course. Scorched Earth: How the Fires of Yellowstone Changed America by Rocky Barker. In 1988, forest fires raged in Yellowstone National Park, destroying more than a million acres. As the nation watched the land around Old Faithful burn, a longstanding conflict over fire management reached a fever pitch. Should the U.S. Park and Forest Services suppress fires immediately or allow some to run their natural course? When should firefighters be sent to battle the flames and at what cost? In Scorched Earth, Barker, an environmental reporter who was on the ground and in the smoke during the 1988 fires, shows us that many of today's arguments over fire and the nature of public land began to take sha