YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — Yellowstone National Park (YNP) announced on Monday that the park had experienced its first confirmed wildland fire of the season on Sunday, June 9.
The fire was spotted by a driver on US191, along the park’s west side, according to YNP. The 0.1-acre fire was ignited by a lightning strike, which sparked a tree about one mile west of the highway, 17 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana. It’s being referred to as the Mile Post 17 Fire on Yellowstone’s fire activity website. Yellowstone’s wildland firefighters had suppressed the fire as of 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 10.
The parkwide fire danger in YNP remains low, according to the announcement. No fire restrictions are currently in place beyond the park’s standard rules for fires, which state that campfires are only permitted within established fire rings in campgrounds and campsites, and that campfires must always be attended and cold to the touch before being abandoned.
