Published by admin on Thu, 08/27/2020 - 10:19am
This story is being reprinted from our 2010 issue that marked 10 years since the Jasper Fire.
On Aug. 24, 2000, Janice Stevenson of Newcastle, Wyo., stopped her car to go to the bathroom along the side of the road just west of Hell Canyon. While stopped, Stevenson lit a cigarette with a match. At 2:17 p.m., she dropped the match, watched a small fire start, got in her car and drove away.
The ensuing fire was the largest in the recorded history of the Black Hills National Forest.