The Great Fire of 1910 Centennial Events and Articles

This month marks the centennial of the Great Fire of 1910 which swept over the Inland Northwest leaving devastation in its wake. To get an idea of the magnitude of this fire, imagine 10,000 new Forest Service workers and 4,000 troops (sent by President Taft) fighting a fire across three states. "Despite their efforts, the fire burned three million acres in two days, killed nearly 100 people, and burned several towns to the ground. It is believed to be the largest fire in recorded U.S. history." [from the Spokane Public Library website]

I wrote about my husband's ancestors' experience last October in my post, The Martin Family and the Great Fire of 1910. My local paper, the Spokesman-Review, has recently been publishing a series of fascinating articles about the fire. If you go to this link, you will see that currently there are 19 articles, three photo galleries, a video, an audio file, and a blog post published at their website that are tagged with the 1910 Fire label.

Additionally, area museums are showcasing exhibits about how the fire affected local communities (see list here) and the Forest Service also has some ceremonies and exhibits as well. Spokane Is Reading is bringing prize-winning author Timothy Egan (known especially for his book on the Depression, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl) to Spokane on October 7th to speak for free on his newest book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America.

Last, and certainly not least, fellow Inland Northwest geneablogger and friend Amy Crooks has been writing about her family's summer adventures on her blog, Untangled Family Roots. The following articles touch on places they visited that commemorate the Big Burn:

• Tombstone Tuesday: A Grave in the Wilderness
• Route of the Hiawatha