The conflict of controlled burn policy in the United States has roots in the historical campaigns to combat wildfires and to the eventual acceptance of fire as a necessary ecological phenomenon . The notion of fire as a tool had somewhat evolved by the late 1970s as the National Park Service authorized and administered controlled burns . While the methodology was still relatively emergent the Yellowstone fires of 1988 struck , which significantly politicized fire management . The ensuing media coverage was a spectacle that was vulnerable to misinformation . Reports drastically inflated the scale of the fires which stigmatized politicians in Wyoming , Idaho , and Montana to believe that all fires represented a loss of revenue from tourism . Partially as a result of millions of dollars lost in estimates , stricter data recording was enforced and thresholds were established for determining which fires must be suppressed . Paramount to the new action plans is the suppression of fires that threaten the loss of human life with leniency toward areas of historic , scientific , or special ecological interest . Since 1988 , many states have made progress toward controlled burns but with a proclivity toward forgetfulness between fire events . Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo of Oregon and Idaho have been moving to reduce the shifting of capital from fire prevention to fire suppression following the harsh fires of 2017 in both states
Yellowstone fires of 1988
Yellowstone fires of 1988
Controlled burn