MzWings
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Worst fires in American history? +Update
« on: Nov 2nd, 2003, 11:00am » |
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This question came to mind this morning while I was checking on the fires in California. I thought the answer the great fire in Chicago (Mrs. O'Leary's cow). Nope!
Answer: 'Peshtigo' wildfire worst in history
Dan Kincaid
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 29, 2003 12:00 AM
QUESTION: What was the worst wildfire in American history?
ANSWER: On the night of Sunday, Oct. 8, 1871, the "Peshtigo" (PESH-ti-go) fire, the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history, burned a million acres around Green Bay inlet in northeastern Wisconsin and killed at least 1,182 people (some estimates put the death toll much higher).
The heavily wooded area had been suffering from a drought for months, and high winds apparently stoked small brushfires into a devastating firestorm that devoured everything in its path.
The winds driving the flames are believed to have reached hurricane force.
The Peshtigo fire gets its name from Peshtigo, Wis., which suffered the most from the conflagration, losing nearly 800 people.
More than a dozen other communities were struck.
Despite its horrendous death toll, the fire has received relatively little attention until recently, for it erupted on the same night as the famous Chicago Fire, which killed 250 to 300 people.
For more information on the Peshtigo fire, read Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History, by William Lutz and Denise Gess.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1029didyouknow29.html
Update on CA fires:
Sunday, November 02, 2003
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A second wave of residents displaced by Southern California's wildfires were being allowed to return home Sunday after a weekend of cooler, calmer weather helped firefighters begin to bring the blazes under control.  
The fire that started Oct. 25 just up the road from the Ewings' place, in Upper Waterman Canyon on the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, consumed 91,000 acres. In the last week, that blaze and a half-dozen others across Southern California have burned about 750,000 acres, destroyed nearly 3,400 homes and killed 20 people.
Though fog, lower temperatures and even snow slowed the spreading flames, more than 12,000 firefighters were still on the lines early Sunday.
Despite a reward of $110,000 and the distribution of a composite sketch, the arsonist has not been caught.
Meanwhile, the 281,000-acre Cedar Fire -- the largest individual blaze in California history -- was 90 percent contained Sunday after burning for six days in the mountains northeast of San Diego.
In all, six fires were still burning across four California counties, producing smoke that has been carried on the wind as far as the Great Lakes region, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The other blazes were the Paradise Fire, also in San Diego County, which was 60 percent contained, the Piru Fire in Ventura County, 80 percent contained; the Grand Prix Fire in San Bernardino County, 95 percent contained; and the Simi Valley fire, which was contained but still burning.
Interactive map of fires:
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/us/0310/major.wildfires/popup.californi a.fires.map.jpg
So while all the fires have some containment, this is just the beginning of the fire season. And, as is typical...
Fires Make Mudslides, Flooding Risks
Saturday, November 01, 2003
LOS ANGELES — Tens of thousands of people living in and around Southern California mountains scarred by deadly wildfire could face added dangers of mudslides and flooding in the months to come, officials say.
"The risk is huge," said Peter Wohlgemuth, a hydrologist with the U.S. Forest Service. "If you get Noah's flood coming after these fires, a pile of sand bags isn't going to help much."
The firestorm that roared through the San Bernardino Mountains burned away layers of vegetation -- twigs, leaves and moss -- leaving vast areas of top soil exposed.
As a result, the ground is more susceptible to erosion and will retain much less water when the rainy season arrives, sending sheets of storm runoff racing toward the valleys below.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,101906,00.html
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