DiscoverScroll article

The Peshtigo Fire was a wildfire on October 8, 1871, in northeastern Wisconsin, United States, including much of the southern half of the Door Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The largest community in the affected area was Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which had a population of approximately 1,700 residents. The fire burned about 1.2 million acres (490,000 ha) and is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, with the number of deaths estimated between 1,500 and 2,500. Data from mass graves, both those already exhumed and those still being discovered, show that the death toll of the blaze was most likely greater than the 1889 Johnstown flood death toll of 2,200 people or more. Occurring on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo fire has been largely forgotten, even though it killed at least five times as many people. Several cities in Michigan, including Holland and Manistee (across Lake Michigan from Peshtigo) and Port Huron (at the southern end of Lake Huron), also had major fires on the same day.

On the day of the Peshtigo fire, an eastward-moving cold front increased the wind speed and several slash-and-burn fires merged. In addition to Peshtigo, 16 other communities were destroyed in the fire. He also notes how the fire seemed to jump across the Peshtigo River using the bridges and upward air drafts and burn both sides of the town. At the same time, another fire burned parts of the Door Peninsula; because of the coincidence, some incorrectly assumed that the Peshtigo fire had jumped across the waters of Green Bay into the Door County regions.

Speculation since 1883 has suggested that the start of the Peshtigo and Chicago fires on the same day was not coincidental, but that all the major fires in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin that day were caused by impact of fragments from Biela's Comet.

The Peshtigo Fire Museum, just west of U.S. A memorial commemorating the fire was dedicated on October 8, 2012, at the bridge over the Peshtigo River. The Peshtigo Fire Cemetery was entered into the National Register of Historic Places. The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, a Marian shrine in Champion, was established at the site of a chapel where Sister Adele Brise and others sheltered from the fire and survived. According to Sister Adele, in October 1859, she had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a warning, saying "If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them." Twelve years later, the fire erupted and many people flocked to the church for safety. Some of the very few things that survived the Peshtigo Fire were the convent, school, and chapel and five acres of land that had been consecrated to the Virgin Mary. Following the fire, people had great faith in the chapel and the Virgin Mary because they believe that she had saved them. Tornado Memorial County Park is located on the site of the former community of Williamsonville, a small village in Door County, and is named for the fire whirl which occurred there. The combination of topography, geography, wind conditions, and ignition sources that led to the fire is known as the "Peshtigo paradigm". Denise Gess, co-author of Firestorm at Peshtigo, said, "They actually made a 'demo' first, a little scale model of wooden buildings, and studied how you would drop bombs until it created a firestorm.

The Peshtigo Fire is discussed in Season 1, Episode 8, of the television series The Gilded Age when downstairs character Jack is discovered putting flowers on the cenotaph of his mother, who died in the tragedy.

"History of the Peshtigo fire, October 8, 1871". Peshtigo Fire at the Wisconsin Historical Society's Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Quick Facts

• Occurring on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo fire has been largely forgotten, even though it killed at least five times as many people.
• The fire burned about 1.2 million acres (490,000 ha) and is the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, with the number of deaths estimated between 1,500 and 2,500.
• At the same time, another fire burned parts of the Door Peninsula; because of the coincidence, some incorrectly assumed that the Peshtigo fire had jumped across the waters of Green Bay into the Door County regions.
• Some of the very few things that survived the Peshtigo Fire were the convent, school, and chapel and five acres of land that had been consecrated to the Virgin Mary.
• The largest community in the affected area was Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which had a population of approximately 1,700 residents.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Peshtigo fire". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.