Posted by Angela Renzi on August 06, 1997 at 21:53:02:
In Reply to: First Trip posted by ROB on August 05, 1997 at 06:53:50:
: Well, we did it. It was great! Made our first trip to YNP on 6/17, all the way from PA.
: We were all fascinated by so many things that we saw , that were unique to Yellowstone.
: One thing that we were disgruntled about, was the amount of land, that was, as I understand,
: allowed to burn, in the fires of '88. Who made this decision to not stop the destruction?
: I know, I know, it was a natural occurence, so that made it OK. We shouldn't step in. Besides,
: its great for the browsing animals.
: BUT!
: Does that mean that if the grizzlies or cutthroat or, for that matter, the pine trees,get
: some kind of a deadly (naturally occuring) disease,that we shouldn't step in and stop it either?
: I DON'T THINK SO!
: Maybe they were using the same water that you have to pay $3.50 a shower for at the campgrounds.
: I couldn't afford showers for a family of 6 everyday.( $21.00 + campsite fee/day) Maybe they
: couldn't afford to put the fire out!
: SORRY BAD JOKE!
: Anyway. Do you guys agree or disagree with my "Too much burn't" theory?
: We went to Glacier to fulfill our pure mountain scenery needs.
: Great page, helped us a lot on our trip! Sorry to throw out this negative opinion!
That was a BAD fire. I know that there were a lot of people there trying to fight it. You don't just tell the flames to die. It is a big battle. I was away from home when Spokane had their "Fire Storm" in 1991. But they did everything possible to contain that fire also. It isn't like dumping a bucket of water on a campfire and watching it sizzle into steam. I've seen the park recently and know that the fire did do damage but I've also seen the lush green meadows where there once was charing. It is an amazing process in my opinion. It renews the land and gives it a chance to start over. I don't think they let the Yellowstone fires burn too much. I think mother nature took her course. You can't fault her for that.