18 Largest Environmental Disasters at National parks

It has been the year of the wildfire. The National Interagency Fire Center reports 51,434 incidents that have burned 7,971,399 acres so far this year, with both numbers on pace to set annual records. Climate experts say the rise is almost certainly linked to global warming. Drought has reached record levels in many parts of the country, particularly the West: Lake Powell and Lake Mead’s water levels are at or near all-time lows, and heat records have been broken in hundreds of cities and towns across America.

The National Park Service was founded in 1916. The National Park Service Organic Act states, in part, that its purpose is “…to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” The national parks cover 52 million acres, about 2% of U.S. land, spread across 63 parks. Most of the largest parks, by acreage, are in the West. Some, like Gateway Arch, sit within cities; others, like the Grand Canyon, are remote.

The effects of global warming and the parks themselves have collided repeatedly over the last several years, almost always in the Western states. Most of these incidents were wildfires, though several were caused by severe flooding.

Because of where many parks are located, climate change is not only affecting them now but will likely continue to do so in the future. A recent large-scale study addressed this problem: “Relative Vulnerability of US National Parks to Cumulative and Transformational Climate Impacts” covers the broader universe of sites known as “national parks,” including some smaller sites not officially designated with that title. The study found that “200 parks (77%) [are] most vulnerable to climate change, based on relative scores for either cumulative vulnerability or for at least one potentially transformational factor.”

Data on the largest environmental crises in the national parks over the last decade came from InciWeb, National Interagency Fire Center, NPS Wildland Fire programs, and the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

#	Year	Park/Area	Cause
1	2026	North Cascades National Park, WA	Multiple active wildfires (Luna Fire was largest)
2	2026	Canyonlands National Park, UT	Wildfire burned southern end of park
3	2026	Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO	Mudslides on East Portal Road from thunderstorms
4	2026	Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Parkway, White Sands Parks	January winter storm with ice and heavy snow
5	2025	Olympic National Park, WA (Hoh Rain Forest)	Historic flooding, landslides across the region
6	2025	Glacier National Park, MT	Regional flood damage cutting off access routes
7	2025	Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO	South Rim Fire — 4,232 acres burned, park fully closed
8	2025	North Cascades National Park, WA (Stehekin Valley)	Major flooding destroyed wastewater system
9	2025 (Jul)	Grand Canyon National Park, AZ (North Rim)	Wildfire destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and other structures
10	2024	Joshua Tree National Park, CA	Closures over widespread fire risk during July 4th weekend
11	2023	Grand Canyon National Park, AZ (North Rim)	Over 250 inches of snow; undermined water infrastructure
12	2022	Yellowstone National Park, WY/MT	Massive flooding — north loop closed for weeks
13	2021	Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, CA	KNP Complex Fire threatened giant sequoia groves, causing closures and evacuations
14	2020	Rocky Mountain National Park, CO	East Troublesome Fire, a rapidly moving wildfire, forced full evacuation
15	2020	Big Basin Redwoods State Park, CA	CZU Lightning Complex Fire caused significant damage to old-growth redwoods; park closed for over a year
16	2018	Yosemite National Park, CA	Ferguson Fire’s smoke and fire risk caused a multi-week closure of Yosemite Valley
17	2016 (Nov)	Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN	Chimney Tops 2 Fire, a deadly wildfire, moved into Gatlinburg and killed 14 people
18	2013	Yosemite National Park, CA	Rim Fire — one of California’s largest wildfires, forced partial closures