The Berry Fire is Grand Teton National Park’s largest fire in history

The Berry Fire in Grand Teton National Park has gone down as the largest wildfire in the history of park. It started back in July, and 68 days later, it is still burning. The Berry Fire has burned more then 20,000 acres.

“Having these additional acres burned this year just adds overall to the ecosystem resilience that we hope to see in future years. It’ll restart the natural cycle of the forest regeneration. We’ll see younger trees in starting next year. Lots of forest and wildflowers and a whole host of species that come in immediately post-fire that you do see in an older forest,” said Chip Collins with the National Park Service.

The work of the people who fought those other big fires from previous years is the reason for the success of keeping the Berry Fire at bay this year.

“Well, when a fire burns into an area that is already been burned in the past, then the fuel is different and, therefore, the fire’s behavior is a little bit different. And the more recent the fire is, the more likely the fire is to slow down and sometimes even stop when it comes into a burned area,” said Diane Abendroth with the National Park Service

The success is also credited toward the area being such a fire adapted community.

“Metal roofs, no firewood piled up against them. Green grass up to the foundation. As well as just having a planned response in the case of fire coming in,” Collins said.