The Yellowstone fires of 1988 collectively formed the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Starting as many smaller individual fires, the flames quickly spread out of control due to drought conditions and increasing winds, combining into several large conflagrations which burned for several months. The fires almost destroyed two major visitor destinations and, on September 8, 1988, the entire park was closed to all non-emergency personnel for the first time in its history. Only the arrival of cool and moist weather in the late autumn brought the fires to an end. A total of 793,880 acres (3,213 km2), or 36 percent of the national park, burned at varying levels of severity.
More than 150,000 acres (610 km2) were burned on the worst day of the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
On August 20, in the year 1988, More than 150,000 acres (610 km2) were burned on the worst day of the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of August 20, one of 504 recorded events on this date across all of history.
Key Facts
- This event took place on August 20, 1988 (AD era).
- It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
- Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
- The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
- Wikipedia source last updated on 10 August 2026.
On This Date in History 504
This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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