Yellowstone 12 years after 1988 fire, satellite image. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 were the largest in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park. They burned from June to November of that year, and destroyed large amounts of forest. This satellite image was obtained in infrared and visible light on 7 July 2000 by a Landsat satellite. It is part of a sequence showing the appearance of the area before, during and after the fire, showing the recovery over the following three decades. In the sequence, old forest is dark green, burnt areas are pink to dark red, and new forest is a lighter colour. Smoke (blue) and clouds (white) are also sometimes present. For the sequence, see images C047/5608 to C047/5612.