Peshtigo fire: The deadliest wildfire in US history which killed over 1,000 people

Peshtigo fire: The deadliest wildfire in US history which killed over 1,000 people
Peshtigo fire: The deadliest wildfire in US history which killed over 1,000 people

New Delhi: Los Angeles in California is witnessing a devastating wildfire and so far, close to 20,000 acres of land have been destroyed. The fire has reduced numerous homes to ashes, including those of celebrities, forcing people to flee for safety. The number of death toll as of now is seven and evacuations are going on in the region as firefighters are trying to douse off the fire. Wildfire ravaging California is not a new thing and the US, despite being one of the most powerful and technologically advanced countries in the world, has fallen short of managing wildfires over the years. In this article, we will take a look at the most devastating wildfire in the history of the United States

Peshtigo fire: When inferno engulfed the US

The Peshtigo fire was a large forest fire on October 8, 1871, in northeastern Wisconsin, including most of the Door Peninsula’s southern half and adjacent parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is not just the deadliest wildfire in the history of the US but is also one of the deadliest wildfire in recorded history. Peshtigo in Wisconsin was the place most affected and hence the wildfire has been named after it. The fire scorched about 1.2 million acres of land and killed 1,500 to 2,500 people although the exact death toll is not known. Notably, the Peshtigo fire took place around the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire.

What caused the Peshtigo fire?

At that time, slash-and-burn land management was a common method followed to clear forest for farming and to construct railroads. Ahead of the Peshtigo fire, an eastward-moving cold front increased the wind speed leading to the merger of several slash-and-burn fires. The story of the Peshtigo Fire, which has been derived from the accounts of survivors and conjecture, is that railroad workers clearing land for tracks that evening started a brush fire which turned into an inferno.

The fire moved so rapidly in an unusually dry summer that some survivors described it ‘like a tornado’. It scorched 1.2 to 1.5 million acres and burned parts of Door and Kewaunee counties and the estimated damage was at $169 million, about the same as for the Chicago Fire. While Peshtigo was the worst-affected place, the fire also burned 16 other towns. In Peshtigo alone, 800 people died.

The impact of the Peshtigo fire

The Peshtigo fire served as a wake-up call about the land use practices back then. After the land was cleared, timber was discarded without thinking about its potential to cause wildfires. Over the subsequent years, there has been evolution in tackling wildfire potential with varying degrees of success. Weather support has become an integral part in this and the National Weather Service is playing a crucial role in predicting wildfires in the US.

 The recent devastating wildfire in Los Angeles, California, highlights the ongoing threat of wildfires. This article compares the current crisis to the deadliest wildfire in US history, the 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin, which consumed 1.2 million acres and killed thousands.   knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge