“Devastation,” “Heartbreak,” “Chaos,” “Worst fire in U.S. History.” All have been used as headlines in regards to the massive wildfires that have ravaged through the Colorado mountainside, incinerating hundreds of homes and thousands of acres in its path.
But as we all know, news media tends to focus on the now, overlooking aspects of the not-so-long-ago past to magnify the present. The fires, however devastating they may be, are by no means the most devastating for the entire country, both in recent memory and years past.
While the Colorado fires of High Peak and Waldo Canyon have combined burnt approximately 105,000 acres and destroyed approximately 600 homes, calling the wildfire the worst in the nation’s history is a large understatement. The designation of that fire falls upon the fire that took place in Peshtigo, Wisconsin on October 8, 1871 – the same day as the Great Chicago Fire.
A town of approximately 1,700 residents at the time of the fire, the town was a popular western settlement at a time where U.S. Western expansion was in full swing. On this particular day, however, a number of small fires that had been burning for some time due to the dry summer that has just passed would be fed by strong winds to form a massive firestorm that would become one of the biggest wildfires in American History.
A conflagration, or combination of winds and fires to create a massive firestorm, devastated the Midwest with a fire one mile high and five miles long, moving at approximately 90 miles per hour. When the fire was finally extinguished due to heavy rains several days later, it had burnt over 1.2 million acres, completely destroying at least 12 communities in Wisconsin, and claiming at least 1,200 lives. Some estimates put the death toll as high as 2,500, although the small towns’ population records were destroyed by the fires, so the death toll is unknown.
Even by examining more recent records, the 2002 wildfires that tore through the Colorado countryside was larger in both size and devastation, burning over 600 homes to the ground and charring nearly 138,000 acres of land, resulting in over 50,000 residents being evacuated and thousands of firefighters required to bring the blaze under control.
In terms of loss of life, the three lives lost in the 2012 wildfires don’t surmount as the most in state wildfire history: 14 firefighters were killed when they were caught by a fast-moving fire in South Canyon, Colorado in 1994. And nationwide, just last week a wildfire burning in South Dakota claimed the lives of four firefighters who perished when their military C-130 cargo plane crashed.
In fact, over of 685,000 acres and counting have already burnt since January 1, including a massive 330,000-acre fire that is still burning in New Mexico, the largest in that state’s history.
Historically, the most costly and deadly wildfires have come in the highly-populous region that is Southern California, which has seen a majority of the nation’s most costly wildfires in recent decades. Two notable fires include the 2007 fire that burnt approximately 500,000 acres, destroyed over 1,300 homes, and caused the evacuation of over 500,000 people; and the October 2003 fire that burnt over 800,000 acres, destroyed 3600 homes, and killed 24 people.
In no way, shape, or form should the devastation taking place in Colorado be diminished. However, remember that wildfires much larger have taken place, are taking place, and will take place in the future, and shouldn’t be forgotten. If anything, 2012 could turn out to be one of the worst years for wildfires across the nation to date.
Anyone interested helping those affected by the wildfires should contact the American Red Cross by visiting them online at www.redcross.org or by calling toll-free at 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Knoll, 20, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknolljr4cmcherald@y ahoo.com. He is a student at Rowan University.

