The Big Blow Up
1 Imagine a fire so big and terrifying that it could devour seven entire towns along with eighty-seven people. This is exactly what happened in 1910 when the “Big Blow Up,” the largest wild fire in American history, destroyed three million acres of land in northeast Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana.
2 It all started with an unusually hot and dry summer that had lasted for weeks. By August, the drought had withered trees and forest plants into dried-out vegetation. The dry foliage was the perfect catalyst for forest fires which could have been ignited by lightning or sparks from trains passing through the area. By the middle of August, about 1,000 to 3,000 fires were burning in areas of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The United States Forest Service had just been created and did not have the funds or number of workers to deal with the increasing fires. President Howard Taft had to send four thousand soldiers to help local fire fighters and forest rangers battle the raging fires. They worked tirelessly to dig fire lines or dirt paths that act as barriers to stop fires.3 By August 19, the fire fighters’ hard work seemed to have paid off, and some of the men were sent home to rest; however Mother Nature had plans of her own. On August 20th, forceful, hurricane-like winds blew through the area and re-kindled the dying embers. Within a few hours, the patches of fire had joined to create one of the largest fires ever recorded in U.S. history. Unprepared for the monstrosity of the growing fire, many fire fighters scrambled to get to safety.