For example, in the greater Yellowstone National Park area in 1988, 248 separate fires burned 1.2 million acres, which involved about 36% of the total park area. Similar to drought conditions we are seeing here, the summer of 1988 was the driest on record for Yellowstone. Overall, the fires burned 1,875 square miles in and around the park and destroyed 67 structures in Yellowstone, causing more than $3 million in property damage. Not to downplay the seriousness our recent fires but compared to the Yellowstone fires, ours were minor in terms of effect on wildlife.

How did the plants and animals respond in Yellowstone? The 1988 wildfires were not the ecological disaster many feared at the time. Far from destroying the park, the fires brought new life, cleared out the forest canopies and allowed new plants to bloom. A visit today proves the fires did not destroy Yellowstone National Park. “You look around, there’s wildlife, there’s birds, everything’s fine,” said park visitor Tracey Florio, of Cape Coral, Fla., who traveled to Yellowstone this summer (2008). “Actually, it’s a lot greener now. Hopefully, we learned from that. It’s OK to let nature do what it needs to do — clean house.”

-Excerpts from a 2008 article by NBC News-
http://www.nbcnews.com/…/yellowstone-fires-marked-start-n…/…

So, did the Gatlinburg fire kill, injure or displace wild animals? Yes. But did it wipe them out? No. And in time, they will likely respond favorably as the land heals itself.