Burn Recovery in Yellowstone

In the summer of 1988, lightning- and human-ignited fires consumed vast stretches of Yellowstone National Park. By the time the first snowfall extinguished the last flames in September, 793,000 of the park’s 2,221,800 acres had burned.

This series of images shows the scars left in the wake of the western Yellowstone fires and the slow recovery in the twenty years that followed. Taken by Landsat-5, the images were made with a combination of visible and infrared light (green, short-wave infrared, and near infrared) to highlight the burned area and changes in vegetation. In the years that follow, the burn scar fades progressively. On the ground, grasses and wildflowers sprung up from the ashes and tiny pine trees took root and began to grow. Though changes did occur between 1988 and 2010, recovery has been slow. In 2010, the burned area is still clearly discernible.

Images acquired by Landsat satellites

Reference: NASA’s Earth Observatory

See earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/WorldOfChange/yellowstone.php