What fire was not contained for a couple of months?
The other major fire located in the northern section of the park was the Hellroaring fire. Started in Gallatin National Forest on August 15 from embers from an unattended campfire, the fire initially moved north, but then turned around a few days later and moved south, threatening the area near Tower Junction.In the northwest, the Fan fire started on June 25, and was originally considered a threat to the town of Gardiner, Montana, just outside the park's north entrance. It was the most successfully fought of all the 1988 fires. Though the fire was not contained for a couple of months, by mid-August, it was no longer considered a threat to lives and property.The largest fire in the park was the North Fork fire, both in terms of damage to structures and of area burned. The fire started on July 22, when a man cutting timber dropped his cigarette in Caribou-Targhee National Forest just outside the park's western border. The North Fork fire was the only major fire that was fought from the beginning since it started after the prescribed fire policy was halted on July 15. The fire spread towards the northeast and by the end of the first week of August, was threatening Madison Junction and nearby campground facilities. The fire then raced towards Norris Junction on August 20. Firefighters there used water and foam to keep the structures from being consumed by the blaze. The fire continued its eastward advance along the Yellowstone Plateau, and on August 25, reached visitor facilities at Canyon, where land management agencies and the U.S. military put forth enormous efforts to protect structures. The eastern flank of the fire calmed down for several days, then down-sloping winds off the Yellowstone Plateau forced flames along the west side of the fire towards the town of West Yellowstone, Montana. There, private citizens assisted assigned personnel in soaking hundreds of acres of forestland to protect both the town and an electrical power substation. The fire burned a substantial section of forest along the Madison River valley.
Fan fire