Before European settlers: Forest fires are part of the natural cycle. Some Native Americans conduct controlled burns.

1910: The death of 87 firefighters prompts the USFS to adopt the “10 o’clock” policy—all fires out by 10 a.m. the following morning. The number of acres burned drop from more than one million to between 200,000-300,000 per year.

1950s: USFS finds “Smokey Bear” in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest. He becomes an icon for fire suppression and the Forest Service.

1972: Both the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service formally adopt the policy of using fire as a tool to reduce fuel.

1988: 1.4 million acres in Greater Yellowstone burn. More than half of Yellowstone National Park, 793,880 acres, is allowed to burn.

1995: Federal policy officially changes after the deaths of 14 firefighters in the Storm King fire in Colorado. Federal land managers are told to identify areas that could burn with little risk to life or property.

2000: Fire fighting budget: $1.3 billion.

2001: Fire fighting budget: $542 million.

2002: USFS memo estimates fire fighting budget projected to be between $1.3 and $1.5 billion (it also indicates $215 million has been “misplaced”).

More on wildfires
"We had to destroy the village to save it"
Federal Fire Sham
Wildfire Basics: Q&A with Dr. Tim Ingalsbee
Yellowstone: The Vital Role of Wildfires
Solutions: Fire Prevention