Bush Inspects Fire Area at Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — After unveiling his clean air plan in Washington, President Bush flew here to tour the site of naturally sparked forest fires that charred nearly a million acres of parkland last summer.

Bush arrived in Wyoming in mid-afternoon and took a 20-minute helicopter ride over some of the area scarred by the fires. On the ground, the President toured the Fountain Flats burn area and inspected charred tree trunks and tiny green pine sprouts growing in the rubble.

When asked about the possibility of recovery from the fires, Bush told reporters: “We’ve got a very, very impressive group of men and women working on it. . . . They’ve given a very optimistic assessment.”

Wearing a leather jacket, forest-green slacks and a blue baseball cap, Bush was the picture of a chief executive on holiday, ending his afternoon with a fishing trip on Jackson Lake in the shadow of the snow-capped Grand Tetons.