$19.95

In Yellowstone's Rebirth by Fire, Karen Wildung Reinhart examines how the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park have served as a primer in fire ecology. Illustrated with lush color photography by Jeff Henry and Billings Gazette photographers, Reinhart's story opens with a gripping account of the 1988 wildfires that swept across the drought-stricken, tinder dry Gretaer Yellowstone Ecosystem - complete with smoke-shrouded skies, flaming forests, weary firefighters, and evacuations. Ten witnesses to the 1988 wildfires - ranging from park officials, such as Park Superintendent Bob Barbee, to the "ground pounders," such as helitack firefighter Jane Lopez - also tell their dramatic stories.

Reinhart explores the science behind the burning questions of 1988: Will Yellowstone's forests have to be replanted? Will wildlife habitat recover? Will people want to visit Yellowstone?

The book illustrates in text and images the park's regeneration: how the orange flames and balckened trees of the 1988 fire are replaced by dense stands of lodgepole pine as well as new understanding of the importance of fire to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.