In considering how I wanted to approach this third and for now final article on the 1871 Peshtigo Fire, I have two points I want to make. First, I am glad I some time learning a little more about the general history of the Lake States, a part of the United States that I am not that familiar with. I do think that learning from our history is important. Then of course, there was learning more about the 1871 Peshtigo Fire itself. While the worst fire in terms of loss of life, there were many other wildfires in the Lake States from 1870 to 1930 (Pyne, 1997, 200). Over the time that I have devoted this blog to aerial wildland firefighting and related issues, I have done enough reading to know that lessons are learned from historical fires and as possible changes in fighting and managing the impacts of wildland fires are made. I suspect that some of the current wildland fire policy on both the State and Federal level have came to be because of historic wildfires such as the 1871 Peshtigo Fire. For example, Pyne (1997, 213) talks about State-level efforts in the late 19th century aimed at reducing fire hazard in the Lake States, these efforts waxed and wane over time but it was a start. Hultquist (2013) talks about the improvement in the support of the National Weather Service in wildland firefighting including but not limited to the role of onsite NWS Incident Meteorologists.
Second, Around the time I wrote my October 13th article on rebuilding after the 1871 Peshtigo Fire I found a reference to an article by Hutch Brown in the Fall 2004 edition of Fire Management Today, (pp. 20-30): “The Air Was Fire: Fire Behavior at Peshtigo in 1871”. I would suggest that any of you interested in knowing more get this issue of Fire Management Today, at the time I write this it is freely available on the internet from this US Forest Service site. Brown writes about what happened during the days leading up to the Peshtigo Fire that increased the fire danger and what happened the night the fire burned in Peshtigo with a focus on land use and weather conditions. Brown then finishes up with a section on lessons learned where he discusses what happened during the 1871 Peshtigo Fire and the lessons that for modern wildland firefighting including but not limited to the unpredictability of wildfires, and the importance of escape routes. Brown has an impressive reference list at the end of his article while 18 years old, it includes useful references.
On a more personal note, reading about the 1871 Peshtigo Fires has touched me and I hope that the lessons from these and other wildfires in the Lake States during the late 19th and early 20th century won’t be forgotten. I noted that the Peshtigo has not forgotten this fire with a museum devoted to the fire open seasonally as well as a memorial and a cemetery markers, see the Peshtigo Fire Museum website ( http://www.peshtigofiremuseum.com ) for more information. I will always remember those known and unknown who died during the fire as well as the stories of those who survived the fire. May they rest in peace.
Other articles in this series:
In Remembrance: Peshtigo Wisconsin Fire, October 8-9 1871
In Remembrance: Rebuilding After the Peshtigo Fire of Oct. 8-9, 1871
References
Brown, Hutch. 2004. The Air Was Fire: Fire Behavior at Peshtigo in 1871. Fire Management Today (Fall, V64,4). Obtained on October 12, 2021 from https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_019070.pdf
Hultquist, Thomas, Science and Operations Officer, U.S. National Weather Service Twin Falls Minnesota, The Great Midwest Wildfires of 1871, Obtained on October 7 from https://www.weather.gov/grb/peshtigofire2
Pyne, Stephen J, 1997, Fire in America, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London)
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