The Nation - News from Sept. 25, 1988

Business owners in and around Yellowstone National Park told a Senate subcommittee in Bozeman, Mont., they need millions of dollars in federal aid for losses caused by one of the worst bouts of forest fires in the park’s history. Visitation figures dropped by 260,000 at the end of August, officials said. That drop meant a loss of between $60 million and $70 million to area businesses, said John Wilson, head of Montana’s tourism and travel promotion bureau. Terry Povah said his company, TW Services, which operates hotels, restaurants and gift shops in the park, suffered a 20% drop in business. However, officials at the hearing from the Small Business Administration and Department of Agriculture did not offer the business owners much hope of receiving federal funds.