Here’s how forests rebounded from Yellowstone’s epic 1988 fires – and why that could be harder in the future

This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the 1988 Yellowstone fires – massive blazes that affected about 1.2 million acres in and around Yellowstone National Park. Their size and severity surprised scientists, managers and the public and received heavy media coverage. Many news reports proclaimed that Yellowstone was destroyed, but nothing was further from the truth.

–Monica G. Turner Professor of Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison