From Stand 4, you can see the bowl to the south which is referred to as the 17th Bowl. You can also see the flagpole at the site of the T56 crash on the southern-most horizon ridge.

Stand 3 is located up the ridge from a prominent juniper tree in between the 16th and 17th Bowls. The two bowls have been named as to reference the fire behavior which occurred on those days in each bowl.  The bowl to the north is referred to as the 16th Bowl and the bowl to the south is referred to as the 17th Bowl.

Fire behavior in the 16th Bowl was extreme, characterized by intense surface and crown fire, hooking uphill runs, and fire whirls late in the day. Most of the 16th Bowl was burned by night fall.

Stand 2 is located at the BLM land ownership boundary. The mixed mountain shrub fuel type you see is representative of what the area looked like in 1976. The dominate brush was Gambel's oak, mountain mahogany, serviceberry, and snowberry. The Gambel's oak was 10 to 12 feet tall.

From Stand 1, you can look up at the crash site of air tanker T56. From this location, you can see the road to the Rulison blast site. This was the site of a 43-kilo ton atomic blast 8,426 feet below the surface, which was conducted as part of the Operation Plowshare project on September 10, 1969. The blast was part of a program to convert the government's 27 nuclear programs into one of various peacetime uses of atomic power. At the time of the fire, there were still large amounts of equipment and two aboveground storage tanks on site.

By October 24 the gale force winds had subsided. The fire managers of the National Park Service met to collect, assess, and reorganize their equipment and personnel. Wilbur Savage was designated as Fire Boss, and subsequent organizational and tactical assignments were made. Supplies and personnel poured in from all over the United States as the evacuation of residents continued.

Because this area did not burn in 1947, one can see the loading and type of fuels that existed on much of the island prior to the fire. Low areas tend to be dominated by large spruce, cedar, fir, and white pine. Where soil and weather conditions permit, hardwood trees figure into the mix. At higher elevations, the trees show weather stress as sub-alpine conditions are reached. In most of the area, especially where the softwoods are dominant, a duff layer exists which can extend deep into the ground in the gaps and cracks between rocks and ledges.

By the morning of October 23, personnel and equipment from all over the northeastern United States were being brought in to fight this fire. During the morning hours, a stiff southwesterly wind pushed the fire toward the community of Hulls Cove and northern portions of Bar Harbor. Structures were already being lost and major evacuation efforts were underway when, at about 1500, a frontal passage arrived earlier than predicted, bringing 40 to 50 mile per hour winds from the northwest.

A strong northeast wind picked up early in the morning of October 21. The fire, which was still under patrol, escaped its control lines, crossing the Crooked Road at about 0745. A general alarm was sounded at 0800 for resources to fight the rapidly spreading flames. By 1000 Chief Sleeper called Dow Army Air Base requesting manpower; they were able to send 225 officers and soldiers to the efforts. By 1600 the fire had swept southeasterly, crossing the Eagle Lake Road to the shore of Eagle Lake, and was burning on the National Park lands.