For the past 30 years, Yellowstone National Park has employed a “light, fast, flexible” team of seven to 10 firefighters known as a wildland fire module.

“It's very logistically challenging here,” explained John Cataldo, Yellowstone fire management officer. “So a group that can be three to seven days self-sufficient when we first insert them into the backcountry is really at a premium for us, because it's very challenging to resupply them once they're put into the field.”

Thanks to this skillset, the firefighters could be deployed for extended attacks, Cataldo said. That happened between Aug. 15 and 19, when the park saw eight new fires, the majority caused by lightning. As a result, most of the team was deployed with a few held in reserve.

“So they're out sleeping on a ridge in the bac

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