The 2000-2001 Western United States wildfires were a series of unusually severe

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

s that caused more than $2 billion (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) in damage and resulted in the deaths of four firefighters. Overall, 6,966,995 acres burned across the United States and 2.2 million of those acres were in Idaho and Montana alone. A declaration of a state of emergency brought six military battalions and fire fighting teams from as far away as Australia and New Zealand to the Western United States. Federal and state land management organizations recognize the fires as historic "both in extent and duration." The ten year fire season average is 3.1 million acres. The fires in 2000 destroyed more than double that acreage. Nearly $900 million (USD) was spent fighting fires. Long lasting ecological damage, including flooding, top

soil runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when the s ...

, and air quality damage has continues to this day. The damage was particularly severe in the

Bitterroot National Forest Bitterroot National Forest comprises 1.587 million acres (6,423 km²) in west-central Montana and eastern Idaho, of the United States. It is located primarily in Ravalli County, Montana (70.26% of the forest), but also has acreage in Idaho ...

. One of the most stunning photos from these fires are two elk seeking shelter in the East Fork of the

Bitterroot River The Bitterroot River is a northward flowing river running through the Bitterroot Valley, from the confluence of its West and East forks near Conner in southern Ravalli County to its confluence with the Clark Fork River near Missoula in Missoul ...

. The photo became known as

Elk Bath The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

References

* Lorch, Donatella, and Mark Matthews. "Flaming Fury." -Newsweek- 21 August 2000: 58-59. * Engelbett, Phillis. "Wildfire." -Dangerous Planet The Science of Natural Disasters.- Vol.3. Ed. Phillis Engelbert. Detroit: The Gale Group, 2001

External links

Climate of 2000 - July Western U.S. Wildfires

NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

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Northern Idaho and Western Montana Summer 2000 Wildfires (PDF)
NOAA
A Report to the President In Response to the Wildfires of 2000 September 8, 2000 (PDF)
Wildfires in the United States Wildfires in Idaho Wildfires in Montana 2000 wildfires in the United States 2001 wildfires in the United States {{Wildfire-stub