17 Structures at Old Faithful Catch Fire

Windblown embers from a 165,000-acre forest fire ignited rooftops Wednesday inside the Old Faithful Geyser complex of Yellowstone National Park, after hundreds of tourists evacuated the area.

At least 17 structures were burned as the big North Fork wildfire moved into the complex Wednesday afternoon when winds shifted, creating a wall of flame that forced 40 firefighters to retreat from the lines.

The fire swept over a maintenance yard, a housing complex and a communications building, said Denny Bungarz, incident commander for the fire. The burning area also included a large workshop, gasoline and propane tanks, dormitories and an apartment complex. But a coating of fire retardant foam spared most of the buildings from heavy damage.

Destroys 14 Cabins

The flames destroyed 14 rustic guest cabins, a storage shed containing an abandoned fire engine and a car, and two utility company sheds.

“When that firestorm went through there, we had to move our people out of there,” Bungarz said. “When you can feel the heat inside your car, it’s time to move.”

Embers rained down on firefighters who wetted roofs inside the complex and activated a sprinkler line on top of the historic Old Faithful Inn to protect the building.

Wednesday’s evacuation of the geyser complex was the first in the 116-year history of the oldest U.S. national park, ordered as the fire burned to within a half-mile of the park’s most popular attraction.

About 800 visitors calmly left the 320-room inn, which park officials decided to close for the season more than a month early.

“I’ve been coming up here a long time,” said Ken Miller, a visitor from Denver. “Thank God I’ve got a lot of pictures of the way the park was, because I’ll never see it like that again.”

Forecasts Precipitation

The National Weather Service said a storm front could bring significant precipitation to Yellowstone by Sunday or Monday. Forecaster Mike Oard in Great Falls, Mont., said the storm was “looking more likely all the time.”

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., Wyoming’s Sens. Malcolm Wallop and Alan K. Simpson asked Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel to declare their state a disaster area, eligible for relief because of the blazes in and around Yellowstone.

The two Republicans also called for the resignation of National Park Service Director William Penn Mott for his service’s policy of letting naturally sparked fires burn unless they threaten man-made structures or people.

However, in the last month Yellowstone officials have tried to suppress all new fires, whether caused by man or nature, but unusually dry conditions and gusting winds have thwarted efforts by thousands of firefighters.

Fires in the Greater Yellowstone area, which includes nearby national parks in Montana, have charred about 1 million acres, park spokeswoman Marsha Karle said.

The 62,000-acre Storm Creek fire outside the northeast corner of Yellowstone Park destroyed two summer homes in the Cooke Pass area east of Cooke City, Mont., and one outbuilding in Silver Gate, Mont. Evacuation orders have been given for Cooke City and Silver Gate.