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ROAD REPORT Norris to Madison Closed for Season More Info THE DAILY CARTOON ONLINE GREETING CARDS PUBLISHER Yellowstone Net Company EDITOR-IN- CHIEF Bruce Gourley MORE LINKS Discussion Newspaper Archives Send us your comments		YELLOWSTONE FIRE UPDATE News Brief YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- A fire in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park was reported on Sunday. The fire was located just three miles north of Gardiner, Montana, and the boundary to Yellowstone, but has since burned to a point slightly inside Park boundaries. Firefighters are building a containment line around the Little Joe fire, which was considered a "human-caused" fire. The fire has spread to over 700 acres in hot, dry conditions, and is being monitored. The Little Joe fire is part of the larger Fridley fire system scattered across 24,000 acres in the Gallatin National Forest between Yellowstone and the I-90 freeway at Livingston, Montana. Firefighters are struggling to contain the Fridley fire, although no structures are threatened at this point. The Fridley fire is currently the top priority wildfire in the country, and is being fought by hundreds of firefighters from throughout the United States. Other fires in Yellowstone include the Falcon fire, which started August 6 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest and has burned into Yellowstone. It has now grown to over 2500 acres total. The Stone Fire is located northeast of Fishing Bridge and has grown to 114 acres. It started on August 16 and is being monitored. The Sulphur Fire, which started across the river from Mud Volcano on August 15, is now at 380 acres. The Arthur Fire, started by lightning on July 29, remains at 2800 acres and is contained but not controlled. BACK TO TOP
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley Ralph Maughan Kim Steinbacher Steve Brashear Clint Wilkes Hon. Bob Gammage Lee Whittlesey David Monteith Denise Elmer Dr. Bob Bara Matthew McLean		ADDITIONAL FIRE RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE by National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Yellowstone National Park officials announce that because of extreme fire danger with increasing fire activity and continuing hot and dry conditions, no wood or charcoal fires are allowed at any of the frontcountry areas as of Monday, August 27, at 12 Noon. This includes the use of fire grates, charcoal grills, fire pans, and any other ember-producing equipment in all campgrounds, picnic areas, parking areas, and employee housing. Additionally, no smoking is allowed in the frontcountry except within buildings where smoking is normally permitted-in vehicles or designated smoking areas, provided an ashtray is used. Other restrictions implemented August 10 prohibit any backcountry wood or charcoal fires, and smoking is restricted to the immediate vicinity of the cooking area in designated backcountry sites only. Some backcountry trails are also closed due to fire activity. Visitors using the backcountry are encouraged to call the backcountry office at (307) 344-2160 for specific trail closure information and other possible restrictions. For current fire information inside Yellowstone National Park, the public may call (307) 344-2580 for a recorded message. Visitors staying at lodging facilities inside the park can call Amfac Parks and Resorts for questions concerning lodging at (307) 344-7901. BACK TO TOP
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		UPCOMING YELLOWSTONE CONFERENCE by National Park Service YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- On October 8-10, "YELLOWSTONE LAKE: HOTBED OF CHAOS OR RESERVOIR OF RESILIENCE," the Sixth Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, will be held Mammoth Hotel. The conference will focus on a central feature of the greater Yellowstone ecosystem's landscape, Yellowstone Lake, where submerged hot springs and spires emerge atop the Yellowstone caldera and rare plants and evidence of prehistoric peoples erode at the mercy of wind, waves, and modern footsteps. The conference is interdisciplinary in nature and includes presentations on geology, wildlife, human history, archeology, and recreational use around the lake. The conference is open to all interested individuals. To register contact AmFac Reservations Department - Attn: Tami, P.O. Box 165, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, or call 307-344-5518 or email to tami@travelyellowstone.com. Information, including a preliminary agenda, is also available at the conference's website at www.nps.gov/yell/technical/conference.htm. BACK TO TOP
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		NORRIS-MADISON ROAD NOW CLOSED News Brief YELLOWSTONE NATOINAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Yellowstone National Park Acting Superintendent Frank Walker reminds park visitors that road construction on the Madison to Norris road has led to the early closure of the road to the public and park employees as of August 26, 2001, for the remainder of the season. No administrative travel is allowed. The southwest end construction barricade is located at the service road north of Madison Junction; the northeast end construction barricade is located at the Gibbon Meadows picnic area. The closure is necessary to allow the contractor to replace two bridges. This section of road will reopen for the winter season and next summer. The Madison-to-Norris road construction is part of a 20-year parkwide road reconstruction plan to improve the park’s 330-mile road system. Many of the roads in the park were constructed by the U.S. Army and Bureau of Public Roads over 50 years ago. The roads are substandard for today’s vehicles, lack structural integrity, are too narrow, and do not conform to engineering safety standards. Reconstruction of the Madison to Norris road will occur in two phases. Phase 1, an 8-mile project, began this past May and is scheduled to be completed in 2003. Phase 2 is scheduled to begin in 2003. Normal fall park road closures begin with the closure of Dunraven Pass (Tower Fall to Canyon) on Tuesday, October 9 and are completed when the remainder of the park roads close for the summer season on Monday, November 5, 2001 at 8:00 a.m. The road from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, to the Northeast Entrance at Cooke City, Montana, remains open year-round to automobile traffic; this road is subject to temporary closures, and chains or snow tires may be required at times due to hazardous winter driving conditions. Yellowstone is scheduled to open for the winter season to oversnow vehicles on Monday, December 17, 2001. Winter oversnow road openings are dependent on sufficient snow. BACK TO TOP