Yellowstone blaze lit up fire debate

With a dull roar 15 years ago today, Old Faithful erupted at 3:30 p.m. as ash began to rain from the sky. Off to the west, an air tanker flew in low and dropped a slurry of magenta retardant on a hillside across from the geyser. Sharp tongues of flame appeared out of the black smoke as the North Fork Fire crested the western ridge.
A firestorm was brewing on the edge of one of the nation´s most-loved natural attractions. When the day was over, 200,000 acres of forests had been blackened. Millions of Americans watching on TV were told it was the destruction of Yellowstone...

This is a special report on the Yellowstone Fire by Rocky Barker of the Idaho Statesman, with some discussion of current fire policy. For the other article in the special report see New growth in Yellowstone shows benefit of natural fire