The Day Minnesota Burned – IOTW Report

The Day Minnesota Burned

100 years ago today, multiple wild fires broke out across the north eastern part of Minnesota.
By night fall, the cities of Cloquet, Moose Lake and Kettle River were destroyed.
Another 35 smaller communities were burned along with thousands of homes and farms.
1,500 square miles burned, 453 died and another 85 were badly burned.
Duluth, the major city at the head of Lake Superior, was spared when the winds finally died down and shifted in the evening.

 

It had been a particularly bad drought year and fuel was readily available from the careless logging practices and lumber yard policies of the time. Trains were coal fired back then and would throw burning embers into the air as they ran full steam through the woods.
Railroad officials had been warned for weeks that there was going to be a problem, but there was a war on and the government, which had nationalized the railroads, insisted the trains keep their schedule. More

A survivor’s account Here

An excellent documentary on the tragedy Here 

7 Comments on The Day Minnesota Burned

  1. Under a Burning Sky is a great book. 25 million board feet of dried pine exploding all at once,plasma bubbles floating over head and fire out running a train.
    Another great book on fire is The Big Burn.

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