View source for Great Fire of 1910

{{Short description|Wildfire in the northwestern United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox wildfire
| title      = Great Fire of 1910
| image      = St Joe Idaho Fire 1910.jpg
| image_size = 230
| caption    = A pine forest on the Little North Fork<br>of the [[St. Joe River]], Idaho, after the fire
| location   = [[Idaho]], [[Montana]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington]], United States<br/>[[British Columbia]], Canada
| date       = August 20–21, 1910
| time       =
| timezone   =
| cost       = Unknown
| area       = {{convert|3000000|acre|mi2 km2|-2}}
| cause      = Not officially determined
| landuse    = [[Logging]], [[mining]], [[railroad]]s
| fatalities = 87
| injuries   = Unknown
| perps      =
| motive     =
}}
{{Location map
|USA
|relief     = 1
|label      = 
|position   = 
|lat        = 47.3
|long       = -116
|caption    = Location in the United States
|marksize   = 6
|float      = 
|background = 
|width      = 230
}}
{{maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=right|frame-width=|frame-height=|from=Great Fire of 1910.map|frame-latitude=47.5|frame-longitude=-115|zoom=5|text=Perimeter of Great Fire of 1910 ([[c:Data:Great Fire of 1910.map|map data]])}}
The '''Great Fire of 1910''' (also commonly referred to as the '''Big Blowup''', the '''Big Burn''', or the '''Devil's Broom fire''') was a [[wildfire]] in the [[Inland Northwest]] region of the United States that in the summer of 1910 burned three million acres (4,700 sq mi; 12,100 km<sup>2</sup>, approximately the size of [[Connecticut]]) in [[Idaho Panhandle|North Idaho]] and [[Western Montana]], with extensions into [[Eastern Washington]] and [[Boundary Country|Southeast British Columbia]].<ref name="NPRBigBurn"/> The area burned included large parts of the [[Bitterroot National Forest|Bitterroot]], [[Cabinet National Forest|Cabinet]], [[Clearwater National Forest|Clearwater]], [[Coeur d'Alene National Forest|Coeur d'Alene]], [[Flathead National Forest|Flathead]], [[Kaniksu National Forest|Kaniksu]], [[Kootenai National Forest|Kootenai]], [[Lewis and Clark National Forest|Lewis and Clark]], [[Lolo National Forest|Lolo]], and [[St. Joe National Forest|St. Joe]] [[United States National Forest|national forests]].<ref name="AmExp"/> The fire burned over two days on the weekend of August 20–21,<ref name=sdcmtsd>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ddZYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BfQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6092%2C1961240 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |title=More than seventy die in forest fires |date=August 22, 1910 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=sdcftmd>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=d9ZYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BfQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6351%2C2221312 |work=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=(Washington) |title=Find twenty more dead near Big Creek |date=August 24, 1910 |page=1}}</ref> after strong winds caused numerous smaller fires to combine into a firestorm of unprecedented size. It killed 87 people,<ref>Egan, Timothy. – "Ideas & Trends: Why Foresters Prefer to Fight Fire With Fire". – ''[[The New York Times]]''. – August 20, 2000.</ref> mostly firefighters,<ref name="Inferno">{{cite web|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/C0119184/english/historical_fires_1910.shtml |title=1910 Fire Season |website=thinkquest.org |publisher=Inferno |access-date=July 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023060745/http://library.thinkquest.org/C0119184/english/historical_fires_1910.shtml |archive-date=October 23, 2013 }}(78 firefighters, 8 civilians)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nfpa.org/research/fire-statistics/deadliest-and-large-loss-fires/deadliest-incidents-resulting-in-the-deaths-of-8-or-more-firefighters|title= Deadliest incidents resulting in the deaths of 8 or more firefighters|date= February 2012|website= nfpa.org|publisher= [[National Fire Protection Association]]|access-date= July 1, 2013|archive-date= November 11, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131111142621/http://www.nfpa.org/research/fire-statistics/deadliest-and-large-loss-fires/deadliest-incidents-resulting-in-the-deaths-of-8-or-more-firefighters|url-status= dead}}(86 firefighters)</ref> destroyed numerous manmade structures, including several entire towns, and burned more than three million acres of forest with an estimated billion dollars' worth of timber lost.<ref name="AmExp"/> While the exact cause of the fire is often debated, according to various [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]] sources, the primary cause of the Big Burn was a combination of severe drought and a series of lightning storms that ignited hundreds of small fires across the [[Northern Rocky Mountains|Northern Rockies]]. However, the ignition sources also include human activity such as railroads, homesteaders, and loggers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tidweel |first=Tom |date=May 22, 2010 |title=Thinking Like a Mountain, About Fire |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/speeches/thinking-mountain-about-fire |access-date=August 31, 2024 |website=U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service}}</ref> It is believed to be the largest, although not the deadliest, forest fire in U.S. history.<ref name="EvergreenMag">{{cite journal|title=The West is Burning Up!|journal=Evergreen Magazine|issue=Winter Edition 1994–1995|url=http://www.idahoforests.org/fires.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001031083216/http://www.idahoforests.org/fires.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 31, 2000|access-date=April 26, 2014|author=Jim Petersen|publisher=Idaho Forest Products Commission}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pulver |first=Dinah Voyles |date=2024-04-29 |title=What is the biggest fire to burn in the US? The answer requires a journey through history. |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/29/list-of-biggest-fires-in-us-these-20-fires-were-massive/73100978007/ |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the fire, the [[U.S. Forest Service]] received considerable recognition for its firefighting efforts, including a doubling of its budget from Congress. The outcome was to highlight firefighters as public heroes while raising public awareness of national nature conservation. The fire is often considered a significant impetus in the development of early [[Wildfire suppression|wildfire prevention and suppression strategies]].<ref name="AmExp"/>

==Background==
A number of factors contributed to the destruction caused by the Great Fire of 1910. The [[wildfire]] season started early that year because the winter of 1909–1910 and the spring and summer of 1910 were extremely dry,<ref>[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/10/00/pcp/6/08/1895-2014?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1895&lastbaseyear=1966&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1967&lasttrendyear=2014 Idaho Spring/Summer Precipitation]; [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]</ref><ref name="AmExp"/> and the summer sufficiently hot to have been described as "like no others."<ref name="NPRBigBurn">{{cite web|title=Teddy Roosevelt And The Fire That Saved The Forests|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114248029|publisher=NPR|access-date=May 26, 2014|date=October 29, 2009}}</ref> The drought resulted in forests with abundant dry fuel, in an area which had previously experienced dependable autumn and winter moisture.<ref>[http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/time-series/us/10/00/pcp/6/08/1895-2014?base_prd=true&firstbaseyear=1896&lastbaseyear=1967&trend=true&trend_base=10&firsttrendyear=1967&lasttrendyear=2015 Idaho Autumn/Winter Precipitation]; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</ref> Hundreds of fires were ignited by hot cinders flung from locomotives, sparks, lightning,<ref name="AmExp"/> and [[controlled burn|backfiring]] crews. By mid-August, there were 1,000 to 3,000 individual fires burning in Idaho, Montana, and Washington.<ref name="EvergreenMag"/>

==Progression==
August 20 (Saturday) brought hurricane-force winds to the interior northwest, whipping the hundreds of small fires into one or two much larger blazing infernos.<ref name="Inferno"/> Such a conflagration was impossible to fight; there were too few men and supplies. The [[United States Forest Service]] (then called the National Forest Service) was only five years old at the time and unprepared for the possibilities of the dry summer or a fire of this magnitude, although throughout the summer it had been urgently recruiting as many men as possible to fight the hundreds of fires already burning, many of them with little forestry or firefighting experience.<ref name="AmExp"/> Earlier in August, President [[William Howard Taft]] had authorized the addition of military troops to the effort, and 4,000 troops, including seven companies from the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]'s [[25th Infantry Regiment (United States)|25th Infantry Regiment]] (known as the [[Buffalo Soldier]]s), were brought in to help fight the fires burning in the northern Rockies.<ref name="Inferno"/><ref name=25th>{{citation| title=Report of the Commanding Officer of G Company, 25th Infantry Regiment| first=Edson E.| last=Lewis| date=September 7, 1910}} in {{cite journal| first=Marvin| last=Fletcher| title=Army Fire Fighters| url=https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Army-Fire-Fighters.pdf|date=Summer 1972| journal=Idaho Yesterdays| pages=12–15| access-date=July 16, 2014}}</ref> The arrival of the Buffalo Soldiers troops almost doubled the black population of Idaho.<ref name="AmExp"/>

Smoke from the fire was said to have been seen as far east as [[Watertown, New York]], and as far south as [[Denver|Denver, Colorado]]. It was reported that, at night, {{convert|500|mi|spell=in}} out into the Pacific Ocean, ships could not navigate by the stars because the sky was cloudy with smoke.<ref name="EvergreenMag"/>

The extreme scorching heat of the sudden inferno has been attributed to the expansive [[Western white pine]] forests that covered much of northern Idaho at the time, due to their flammable sap.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Natural History of Western Trees|last=Peattie|first=Donald|authorlink=Donald C. Peattie|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1950|isbn=978-0395581759|location=Boston|pages=45–47}}</ref>

The fire was finally extinguished when another cold front swept in, bringing steady rain and some early snowfall.<ref name="AmExp" /><ref name="Inferno" /> 

==Effects==

=== Casualties ===
[[File:St Maries 1910 Fire Memorial 1 - St Maries Idaho.jpg|thumb|Memorial to fallen firefighters<!-- who died in the Great Fire--><br>of 1910; at Woodlawn Cemetery<br>in [[St. Maries, Idaho]]<br><small>({{coord|47.3155|-116.5866}})</small>]]
At least 78 firefighters were killed while trying to control the fire, not including those firefighters who died after the fire from smoke damage to their lungs.<ref name="AmExp"/> The entire 28-man "Lost Crew" was overcome by flames and perished on Setzer Creek outside of [[Avery, Idaho]].<ref name=pynelc>{{Cite book|last=Pyne | first=Stephen J. | year=2008 | title=Year of the Fires: The Story of the Great Fires of 1910 | location=Missoula, Montana | publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company | isbn=978-0-87842-544-0 | pages=155–157, 175–176}}</ref> It remains the second deadliest incident in the history of firefighting in the United States, only being surpassed by the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Incidents resulting in the deaths of 8 or more firefighters {{!}} NFPA |url=https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Emergency-Responders/Firefighter-fatalities-in-the-United-States/Deadliest-incidents-resulting-in-the-deaths-of-8-or-more-firefighters |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=www.nfpa.org}}</ref>

Perhaps the most famous story of survival is that of Ranger [[Ed Pulaski]], a [[U.S. Forest Service]] ranger who led a large crew of about 44 men to safety in an [[Edward Pulaski Tunnel and Placer Creek Escape Route|abandoned prospect mine]] outside of [[Wallace, Idaho]], just as they were about to be overtaken by the fire.<ref name="AmExp"/> It is said that Pulaski fought off the flames at the mouth of the shaft until he passed out like the others. Around midnight, a man announced that he, at least, was getting out of there. Knowing that they would have no chance of survival if they ran, Pulaski drew his pistol, threatening to shoot the first person who tried to leave. In the end, all but five of the forty or so men survived.<ref name="The Source">The Source https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The-Source-Stephen-Pyne-Lecture.pdf</ref><ref name="The Big Burn: Idaho and Montana, August 1910 part two">The Big Burn: Idaho and Montana, August 1910 part two {{cite web|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4219853.html?page%3D2 |title=Big Burn – Big Blowup – Idaho and Montana – 1910 – Detailed History – Aftermath – Fire Fighting – Popular Mechanics |access-date=October 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428133332/http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/4219853.html?page=2 |archive-date=April 28, 2009 }}</ref> Pulaski has since been widely celebrated as a hero for his efforts; the mine tunnel in which he and his crew sheltered from the fire, now known as the [[Pulaski Tunnel]], is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

=== Damage ===
[[File:Wallace Idaho 1910 fire.jpg|thumb|[[Wallace, Idaho|Wallace]] after the Big Blowup]]
Several towns were completely destroyed by the {{nowrap|1=fire:<ref name=KavenaughL-CER-2000-08-10>Kavenaugh, Laurie. – "On the Scene: Senior Artist Shares Hometown Tragedy". – ''[[Chico Enterprise-Record]]''. – August 10, 2000.</ref><ref name=GeraniosNK-AP-2000-08-16>Geranios, Nicholas K. – "Current Fires Share Similarities with Fires of 1910". – [[Associated Press]]. – (c/o ''Lewiston Morning Tribune''. – August 16, 2000.</ref><ref name=KramerB-TSR-2000-08-21>Kramer, Becky. – "A Region's Baptism of Fire". – ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]''. – August 21, 2000.</ref><ref name=exleg>{{cite news |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/aug/22/examining-legacy-1910-fires/ |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Kramer |first=Becky |title=Examining the legacy of the 1910 fires |date=August 22, 2010 |access-date=June 21, 2017}}</ref><ref name=LandersR-TSR-2004-2006>Landers, Rich. – "Wild Lands in Waiting". – ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]''. – September 26, 2004.<br>—Landers, Rich. – "1910 Forest Fires Sparked Pulaski's Fame". – ''[[The Spokesman-Review]]''. – July 2, 2006.</ref><ref name=srsipou>{{cite news |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/aug/20/great-fire-wiped-out-wild-towns-taft-grand-forks/ |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Kershner |first=Jim |title=Great fire wiped out wild towns of Taft, Grand Forks |date=August 20, 2010 |access-date=June 21, 2017}}</ref>}}
*Idaho:
**Falcon
**[[Grand Forks, Idaho|Grand Forks]]
*Montana:
**[[De Borgia, Montana|De Borgia]]
**[[Haugan, Montana|Haugan]]
**Henderson
**[[Taft, Montana|Taft]]
**Tuscor

In Idaho, one third of the town of [[Wallace, Idaho|Wallace]] was burned to the ground,<ref name=GeraniosNK-AP-2000-08-16/> with an estimated $1 million in damage (equivalent to $31,490,000 in 2023).<ref name=KramerB-TSR-2000-08-21/> Passenger trains evacuated thousands of Wallace residents to [[Spokane]] and [[Missoula]].<ref name=KavenaughL-CER-2000-08-10/><ref name=GeraniosNK-AP-2000-08-16/> Another train with 1,000 people from [[Avery, Idaho|Avery]] took refuge in a tunnel after racing across a burning trestle.<ref name=KramerB-TSR-2000-08-21/><ref name=savbgfr>{{cite news |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/mar/21/rail-route-tunnels-saved-lives-in-big-fire/ |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |last=Gidlund |first=Carl |title=Rail route tunnels saved lives in big fire |date=March 21, 2010 |access-date=June 21, 2017}}</ref> Other towns with severe damage included [[Burke, Idaho|Burke]], [[Kellogg, Idaho|Kellogg]], Murray, and [[Osburn, Idaho|Osburn]], all in Idaho.<ref name=LandersR-TSR-2004-2006/> The towns of Avery,<ref name="AmExp"/> [[Saltese, Montana|Saltese]] (MT), as well as a major part of Wallace, were saved by [[controlled burn|backfires]]. The smoke from the fire went as far to the east as New York City, and as far south as Dallas.

==Legacy ==
[[File:Wallace 1910 Commemoration (5148626071).jpg|thumb|The Centennial commemoration in Wallace, Idaho]]
The Great Fire of 1910 cemented and shaped the U.S. Forest Service,<ref name=exleg/> which at the time was a newly established department on the verge of cancellation, facing opposition from mining and forestry interests.{{r|AmExp}} Before the epic conflagration, there were many debates about the best way to handle forest fires—whether to let them burn because they were a part of nature and were expensive to fight, or to fight them in order to protect the forests.<ref name="The Big Burn: Idaho and Montana, August 1910 part three"/>

The Forest Service had instituted a policy of extinguishing all fires as quickly as possible in 1908. That strategy was called into question after the Great Fire, but Fire Chief [[Henry S. Graves|Henry Graves]], the second Chief Forester for the Forest Service, doubled down following the Big Blow Up, calling for a more aggressive fire prevention policy. He launched a campaign to remove fire from the landscape. His efforts would lead to the creation of the [[Weeks Act]], which called for cooperation among federal, state and private agencies to address fire protection. The Weeks Act has been credited with saving nearly 20 million acres of forestland.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Weeks Act|url=https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/the-weeks-act/|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Forest History Society|language=en-US}}</ref>

One of the people who fought the fire, [[Ferdinand Silcox]], went on to become the fifth chief of the Forest Service. Influenced by the devastation of the Big Blowup, Silcox promoted the "10 a.m." policy, with the goal of suppressing all fires by 10 a.m. of the day following their report.<ref name=Roberts>{{cite journal|last1=Roberts|first1=Jacob |title=The Best of Intentions|journal=Distillations |publisher=[[Chemical Heritage Foundation]]|date=2015 |volume=1|issue=2|pages=38–39 |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-best-of-intentions|access-date=March 23, 2018}}</ref> It was decided that the Forest Service was to prevent and battle every wildfire.<ref name="The Big Burn: Idaho and Montana, August 1910 part three">{{cite web|title=The Big Burn: Idaho and Montana, August 1910 |website=popularmechanics.com|author= John Galvin|date= July 29, 2007|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a1961/4219853}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Avery Depot]], a train depot in Avery, Idaho used as an evacuation site
*[[Great Fire of Spokane]] City, 1889
*[[Baudette fire of 1910]]
*[[Pulaski (tool)|Pulaski]], a firefighting tool later designed by and named for [[Ed Pulaski]]
*[[Yacolt Burn]]

==References==

{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="AmExp">{{cite web |title=The Big Burn-Transcript |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/burn/ |website=American Experience |publisher=PBS |access-date=January 23, 2019 |date=February 3, 2015}}</ref>

}}

==Further reading==

*Cohen, Steve, and Donald C. Miller (1978).  ''The Big Burn: The Northwest's Forest Fire of 1910''.  Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company.  {{OCLC search link|4493723}}
*[[Timothy Egan|Egan, Timothy]] (2009). ''The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. {{ISBN|0-618-96841-5}}
*[https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/When-the-Mountains-Roared.pdf "When the Mountains Roared: Stories of the 1910 Fire"].  Forest History Society.
*Spencer, Betty Goodwin (1956).  ''The Big Blowup''.  Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Printers.  {{OCLC search link|2994642}}
*Pyne, Stephen (2001, 2008). ''Year of the Fires: The Story of the Great Fires of 1910''. New York: Viking; Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Co. {{ISBN|978-087842544-0}}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* [https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/famous-fires/the-1910-fires/ The 1910 Fires], a history of the Great Fire of 1910 from the [[Forest History Society]] website
* [http://mineralcounty.info/1910Fire.htm "1910 Fire In Mineral County"] – Mineral County Historical Society, c/o Mineral County Information and Commerce

{{Idaho wildfires}}
{{Montana wildfires}}
{{Washington wildfires}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|47.3|N|116|W|type:event_globe:earth_region:US-ID|display=title}}

[[Category:Great Fire of 1910|*]]
[[Category:1910 fires in the United States]]
[[Category:Wildfires in Idaho]]
[[Category:Wildfires in Montana]]
[[Category:Wildfires in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:1910 in Idaho]]
[[Category:1910 in Montana]]
[[Category:1910 in Washington (state)]]
[[Category:1910 natural disasters in the United States]]
[[Category:1910s wildfires]]
[[Category:20th-century wildfires in the United States]]
[[Category:1910 disasters in Canada]]
[[Category:Wildfires in British Columbia]]