The Yellowstone fires of 1988 consumed nearly 800,000 acres (36% of the park), yet surprisingly only one life was lost and structural damage to the park's visitor facilities was minimal. In the years following, spectacular wildflowers rose from the ashes and trees rapidly reclaimed the landscape. In this twenty-five-year look back at the fires, photographer Jeff Henry not only recalls the summer of 1988, where he witnessed and photographed nearly every aspect of the fires, but also the years since as nature healed the charred landscape. A beautiful book that depicts nature as simultaneously malevolent and beneficent, The Year Yellowstone Burned demonstrates the resilience of one of our continent's most dynamic ecosystems.
Jeff Henry has worked in Yellowstone National Park as a seasonal ranger, fire fighter, wildlife researcher, fishing guide, and winterkeeper while pursuing a career as a professional freelance photographer and writer. He lives outside the park in Emigrant, Montana.