34 Peshtigo Fire Facts: Aftermath, Precautions & Much More!

Peshtigo fire, a deadly forest fire, took place on October 8, 1871.

The fire occurred on a summer night that burned around 280,000 ac (113,312 ha) of land. The flames of the fire were so intense that it burned down multiple counties along with the forest.

After the Peshtigo town, Chicago also faced a disaster on the same day. The flames of the Chicago fire created a mass grave where the fire burned miles and miles of land.

Eventually, this fire attracted more attention than the Peshtigo fire. During the Peshtigo forest fire, the Wisconsin Magazine said that not much importance was given to the Peshtigo forest fire.

Most of the news covered instances of the great Chicago fire.

The entire media were busy writing articles and publishing articles regarding the latter, and hence people did not have much idea about the whereabouts of the Peshtigo forest fire. Although to the survivors of the Peshtigo fire, it was nothing less than a tornado moving in ablaze.

If you like reading this article, you might want to read about Amazon Rainforest Fire Facts and facts about wildfires.

Reasons Behind The Peshtigo Fire

The month of October in the year 1871 had witnessed two of the most significant forest fires of American history. The Peshtigo forest fire occurred near the Peshtigo town, situated in the northeastern part of Wisconsin. The fire started at night, stretching to around 1,875 mi (3,017.5 km).

It is believed that the fires were caused due to the accumulation of the small fires used to clear the land. Back in those days, clearing the field by fire was an efficient method of land management.

This method would help clear the land to make space for the railways. The burning of the soil was good for planting crops as well.

So eventually, Europeans considered fire to be helpful. But on October 8, things took an uncontrollable turn. According to the railroad workers, the fire went out of control and caused a storm.

The storm destroyed around 12 communities by spreading fast towards the west. On the day of the fire, a cold wind was moving towards the west, which accumulated with the fire creating high winds.

The winds eventually turned into a storm with a temperature of around 2,000 F (1093.3 C). The fire went out of control and moved at a speed of 68.3 mph (110 kph) and stronger with time.

Precautions Taken For The Peshtigo Fire

Peshtigo fire was nothing but an incident that occurred due to the carelessness of humans. The fire was caused due to the small fires that the farmers lit to clear out their lands. The incident was unexpected by the farmers. However, few precautions were taken while the fire was spreading to save some lives.

The fire was too fast, crossing counties and burning lands. Reverend Peter Pernin stated that the fire crossed the Peshtigo river through the bridges. It burned both sides of the land.

On the same day, it was noticed that the fire had turned into a tornado. The tornado threw rail cars, houses, and other vehicles into the air. The citizens immersed themselves in the Peshtigo river or in a well to save themselves from the storm.

The nearby bodies of water also had people trying to hide in them. Few people drowned in the river after being affected by hypothermia due to the freezing water. Few people fled to the nearby counties to take shelter.

Damages Caused By The Peshtigo Fire

The story of the Peshtigo fire goes back to October 8, 1871. It was a summer night when the people of Wisconsin witnessed a forest fire extending up to 40 mi (64.3 km) long, killing around 1,500 people within a span of two days.

The story of the Peshtigo fire claims the fire to be horrific. According to history, along with the town Peshtigo, the town of Brussels was also affected.

Based on Wisconsin history, the fire covered an area of around 280,000 acres (113,312 ha), including parts of the counties like Marinette, Shawano, Oconto, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Door, and Outagamie. Around 1,152 humans were found to be dead.

At the same time, there were no traces of 350 people after the fire and were later considered to be dead. Approximately 1,500 people were found to be injured severely. The fire caused the loss of properties valued at around $5 million, which made at least 3,000 people homeless.

The properties included houses, residential areas, wood factories, and other forest product-based departments. Apart from these properties, around 2,000,00 wood-producing trees were completely destroyed.

Aftermath Of The Peshtigo Fire

Peshtigo fire was known to occur on the night of October 8, 1871. Even though this forest fire was one of the deadliest forest fires in American history, it was largely forgotten by the people. The fire primarily affected the areas of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, creating comparatively smaller fires initially that turned into a tornado.

As we know, during the Peshtigo fire, the Chicago fire took place. So most of the aids and services that the government sent were for the Chicago forest as it was considered the Great Chicago Fire.

So it took days for services to reach the grounds of Peshtigo. By the time help reached with food and clothing, most people had already reached Marinette.

By this time, only a few buildings were left in the affected parts of Wisconsin. After this disaster, Willam Butler Ogden took the initiative to reconstruct a few buildings in Wisconsin that were destroyed.

But it took many years for businesses to reopen, and the famous wood factory was never re-established. In the present day, only 3,500 residents are living in Peshtigo.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Peshtigo fire facts, then why not take a look at fires in California, or why do you get warm standing in front of a fireplace?