**Before you read the review be sure to check out Rocky Barker's personal website!**
http://www.rockybarker.com/
Introduction:
Forest fires have always been threatening to mankind ever since the earliest of times. However, forest fires are not always destructive. Life adapts and relies on periodic forest first to roll through their ecosystem. Forest fires keep the ecosystem in balance or in check if you will. They bring life with new beginnings. The park shows its fire scars even more than 20 years later, however life is returning to the burnt areas of the park. Trees and shrubs are slowly returning, although the growing season is short. The Lodge pole pine of Yellowstone National Park is a fine example of a tree species that relies on fire and has a short growing season. Barker describes these trees as”serotinous” which means they only open up their cones to spread their seeds in extreme heat. This extreme heat is from periodic forest fires. Fires also enhance soils and “act as a recycler of carbon” in the ecosystem as vegetation burns. This recycling process has been occurring over centuries in Yellowstone. The Yellowstone climate is too cold and dry for heavy decomposition to occur which results in natural buildup of biomass. Periodic fires are normally the solution to this exceeding amount of biomass buildup. Barker sets the scene for his book right after the Civil War. The US army wants to create more limitation on forest fire in protected public lands. This limitation has caused for there to be too much build up in biofuel, thus creating much larger/deadlier fires. This early practice of over prevention is what led up to the large 1988 crown fires of Yellowstone National Park. Earlier recollections of such large fires occurred in the 1860’s when the first expeditions were reaching the park.
Analysis:
In the book Scorched Earth the author/environmental reporter Rocky Barker describes the history, science, and influential figures that played their part in the devastating Yellowstone fires of 1988. His book explains in detail how humans have tried to control nature, but instead have these efforts have resulted in tragedy. The 1988 Yellowstone fires were on record some of the worst wildfires that have occurred in the United States. Several precursors led up to the fires destructive paths. Barker begins his story back in the early 1800’s where the idea of public land was in its first stages of creation right after the civil war occurred. The first federal agencies in charge of the region was the US military and USFS. Barker tells us that “The transformation of the united states from wilderness to frontier and farmlands and communities reshaped American’s wild land fire policy”. Barker then goes on as to saying that General Phil Sheridan of the US army was one of the first to view forest fire as a threat “to these landscapes people valued”. Gifford Pinchot, the creator of the USFS was interested in timber production, and therefore also considered fire to be one of the prime threats in his “economic model”. Barker carefully explains Pinchot’s view of regulating forest fires and Pinchot’s bureaucracy to control both fire and debates about controlling fire. Pinchot’s ideas became reality and instead of fires taking their natural course they were regulated by the forest service employees.
Barker then continues his story with the views of individuals on the other side of the coin. In the late 1800’s John Wesley Powell believed that “water should be regulated and not fire”. Such ideas created dams and reservoirs out in the arid west. Barker’s chapter on Wesley Powell explains Powell’s views on fire suppression and his ideas to reduce undergrowth to prevent large crown fires. Thomas Barlow Walker is one man who practiced Powell’s vision in California forests. However, in the early 1900’s Powell’s “model” ideas would soon change again. Barker’s depiction of fire as a war enemy was impeccable. The great 1910 fires in the park changed the views on fire suppression and overwhelmed the forest service; they were “at war with fire”. “For them and the nation Yellowstone was their Vietnam”. During these “fire wars” one man rose through the ashes named Ed Pulaski (the creator of the Pulaski fire axe). His axe allowed “fire fighters to cut through roots or dig out bare areas for fire lines without having to switch tools”. This tool revolutionized the firefighting industry and used it “to crush Powell’s light burning strategy and institutionalize and blank check for firefighting”. Adding to the fight against wildfires in 1919 was Elers Koch who was the creator of a map to pinpoint and communicate locations of forest fires. Barker’s chapter on Koch was very well put together and taught me a lot the forest service’s fire lookout network, which is quite vast. Barker’s next few chapters focus on the conservation movement. “Through the middle of the twentieth century the support of full fire suppression remained a foundation for land managers and a central cog for conservation values”.
My favorite chapter in Barker’s book was the chapter on fire prevention with cartoons. Cartoon characters were taking the center stage for fire prevention. Bambi produced by Walt Disney Studios was the first to grip the nation in 1942. Bambi the young deer lost its mother in a great forest fire. Barker’s quotes this scene as “an emotional scene was stuck in the minds of children for the rest of their lives”. Another popular cartoon that arose in 1945 was Smokey the Bear. This loving, big bear would take center stage in the ladder part of the century. Smokey the Bear was the symbol of fire prevention and the forest service. His message was as follows: “fire destroys what we should value and only you can prevent forest fires”. Smokey told Americans to not waste valuable timber and to protect the trees so that the forest service could sell them to lumber companies.
Barker than continues his story throughout the conservation/green revolution era, up until the Yellowstone fire policy years just before the 1988 fires. In 1987, a fire scientist by the name of Don Despain wrote a report regarding the greater Yellowstone area showing that over half the park was under a high risk threat of a large forest fire. This threat was due to years of suppression brought on by the forest service’s policies. However the research was ignored and the park service was focused on the health of the parks flora and fauna. The fire season of 88’ began in May in the Lamar valley. Lightning was the fire cause of the destructive 88’ fires. It struck just outside of the park, and officials saw it as no immediate threat so they decided to let it burn. This mentality of “letting fires burn” allowed old stands of Pine Beetle infested Lodge pole pine to ignite like tinderboxes. Superintendent Bob Barbee of the park at the time saw these fires as helpful in restoring the ecological health of the forests. So he decided to let them burn. Later in that 88’ summer, carelessness of humans and more lightning strikes ignited more fires all over the park, a few fires came quite close to the Old Faithful area. The largest was the North Fork Creek fire which almost destroyed the Old Faithful Inn (within 8 miles). The North Fork fire grabbed the media’s attention and Barbee got a lot of heat for it. Barbee was under an immense amount of pressure and finally realized that the fires were getting out of control very quickly. Actions were taken and thousands of firefighters came to combat the flames. I enjoyed this portion of the book as well because Barker had first-hand knowledge of what was going on during those few horrific months. Barker was a reporter who was interviewing Barbee and firefighters regarding the status of the fires of 88’.
Finally, on September 11, 1988 snow fell in the region and helped calm the fires. Barker reflects on the aftermath of the fires by saying “as the smoke cleared the agencies determined that 1.2 million acres had burned and the cost of the fires was 140 million dollars”. Barker’s closing statements regard the Fire Management Policy Review Team who after much deliberation decided to implement fire breaks, and fire reduction strategies such as not prescribing burns during drought years.
Reflections:
I highly recommend this book, and I feel that it could be used as class material for Geography 178- Conservation of the Environment. Barker, I feel has cleared the minds of conservationists who have had negative connotations towards the National Forest Service/National Park Service in the past. Barker’s personal reporting experiences in the park during August and early September, 1988 has put him at the top of authors to report the true facts about these fires. Barker’s book has shown me the history of forest fire policy and has giving me a deeper appreciation for the park. I have visited the park over ten times and have also worked in both Yellowstone and the Forest Service for two summers through the Student Conservation Association. Yellowstone is my favorite National Park, and I appreciate its beauty and I have a deep respect for the forces of nature.
