With global warming continuing to impact temperatures in different parts of the country, it has been another year of wildfire danger in a number of national parks.
At the end of July, Yellowstone National Park, which spans parts of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, raised the parkwide fire danger rating to "Very High" and introduced a number of related restrictions: No campfires of any kind are allowed, even in zones designated for them, and stricter rules are established around where one can smoke or use a flame stove.
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"Wildfire activity is increasing in Yellowstone as crews have responded to and controlled four lightning-caused fires in the last week," the National Park Service (NPS) said at the time while also adding that "now is the time for visitors to be vigilant about fire safety."
NPS lifts restrictions, says there are currently "no active wildland fires"
Nearly two months later, NPS authorities at Yellowstone lowered the fire danger rating back to "High" — the rating has five scales, from the "Low" portrayed as green on signs in the park and "Extreme" that often comes with evacuation orders — and lifted the summer's restrictions on fire.
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"Currently, there are no active wildland fires in the park," the NPS wrote of the change that went into effect on Sep. 17. "Campfires are only permitted within established fire rings in campgrounds and some backcountry campsites."
Those who do take advantage of the lifted restrictions allowing them to sit around a campfire are reminded to follow the formula of "soak, stir, feel, repeat" for putting it out.
"Campfires must always be attended and cold to the touch before abandoning," the NPS states.
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The problem of heat and fire in national parks is only getting worse
As Yellowstone is located in the northern U.S., the autumn months usually provide natural respite from heat and wildfire risk. That said, parks in many of the southern states bordering with Mexico have been seeing increasingly extreme temperatures long past the period typical for them.
California's Death Valley National Park saw temperatures surpassing 125°F (51.7°C) for several weeks without a break back in July while cases of heat-related deaths continued both there and at Grand Canyon well into September.
A couple hiking through Southern California's Joshua Tree National Park narrowly escaped disaster after running out of water six miles into a hike through a remote part of the park. In another incident, an 80-year-old Grand Canyon visitor did not survive when a sudden flash flood caused his boat to capsize during a trip down Havasu Canyon — environmental researchers have been sounding the alarm about how changing temperatures are making such flash floods more common.
“The arid, sparsely vegetated environment here means that rainfall quickly generates runoff because the ground doesn’t absorb it well," NPS spokesperson Rebecca Roland said at the time. “This runoff moves rapidly through narrow canyons and steep terrain, turning dry streambeds into torrents of water within minutes, even from relatively small storms."
National parks hit hard by wildfires this year include Northern California's Yosemite as well as Jasper up in Canada — the popular resort town lost a large part of its historic center after a wildfire raged out of control in July 2024.
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