A wildfire is a spectacular and sometimes frightening sight. On September 9, 1988, tourists watching Old Faithful were cheering as Yellowstone National Park's most popular geyser erupted. But their enthusiasm quickly turned into panic when park rangers urged them to leave while they still could. Flames from a fire in the Northfork area, rising two hundred feet and roaring like a tornado, were approaching Old Faithful pushed by winds of eighty miles per hour.

"Coals were pelting our backs and fist-sized firebrands were flying by our heads," recalls Rocky Barker, a local news reporter. "The area turned black as night and the howling wind sounded like a jet engine as we reached the road to the parking lot. The forest was engulfed in a wall of flame that tossed embers into the crowded area, swirling through the choking smoke like wind devils."

The Northfork Fire was...