Peshtigo Fire Museum (PHOTO: WLUK)
While most will recall Oct. 8, 1871 as the day of the Great Chicago Fire, that story stole the headlines from a blaze in Wisconsin that has been described as Hell on Earth.
On the very same night Mrs. O’Leary’s cow allegedly kicked over a lantern in Chicago, a firestorm tore through northeast Wisconsin – killing more than 1,200 people and consuming up to 1.5 million acres.
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The Peshtigo Fire remains the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history, and yet, very few outside the state know it ever happened. Chicago got a myth. Peshtigo got a tragedy.
A perfect storm for disaster
What we know:
In 1871, slash-and-burn farming and railroad clearing were routine across Wisconsin’s forests. After a summer of drought, the land was a tinderbox.
(Courtesy: Wisconsin Historical Society)
As the Peshtigo Times noted in a 1921 retrospective: "Northern Wisconsin, as a rule, is not subject to drought. But the season of 1871 was an exception."
That night, an eastward-moving cold front kicked up incredibly strong winds. Several small brush fires merged into one monstrous blaze creating a firestorm. Flames were estimated to have reached 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and were kept roaring with wind gusts of more than 100 mph reported.
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In early October, small fires had already threatened the area. The Green Bay Advocate reported a barn and house had been burned in Peshitgo three days before the disaster. Area residents were becoming apprehensive as sparks and cinders were observed blowing across the river, into town.
By the next night, the area went from fire danger to what many called the apocalypse.
(Original Caption) 1871-Peshtigo, WI: An illustration of The Great Fire of Peshtigo in Wisconsin. People are shown trying to run and flee the fire in a chaotic scene.
Witnesses were quoted as saying the fire "moved like a tornado," consuming oxygen so quickly that people running for safety, simply burst into flames. Many in the fire's path tried to seek safety in the Peshtigo River, but that led to drowning and many succumbed to hypothermia in the cold river water.
The Peshtigo Fire finally ended when the wind died down and heavy, drenching rains came a few hours later, extinguishing the flames.
The Peshtigo Fire Stats
By the numbers:
- Area Burned: 1.2 to 1.5 million acres
- Communities Destroyed: 16 (including Peshtigo, Williamsonville, and parts of Door and Kewaunee counties)
- Estimated Death Toll: 1,200 to 2,400 people
- In Peshtigo Alone: About 800 lives lost
- Temperature of Flames: Up to 2,000°F (estimate)
- Wind Speeds: More than 100 mph
- Property Damage: $5 million (about $131 million in today’s dollars)
- Duration: Roughly one night — Peshtigo was gone in less than an hour
Did a comet spark the blaze?
What we don't know:
Probably not, but there are some that speculate a comet started the fires that led to the Peshtigo blaze as well as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and blazes in parts of Michigan and Illinois.
The theory suggests the fires were caused by fragments of Biela’s Comet. Some point to reports of blue flames as evidence of comet material in the fires.
Scientists later debunked that as burning carbon monoxide from oxygen-starved air.
Illustration of Biela's Comet from World of Comets, A. Guillemin, 1877 (U.S. edition) PUBLIC DOMAIN
Legacy of a forgotten inferno
Why you should care:
After the fire, the lumber industry changed very little, and Wisconsin continued to see major fires for decades.
U.S. and British military scientists studied what became known as the "Peshtigo paradigm" during World War II to understand how firestorms form.
Today, the Peshtigo Fire Museum on Oconto Street preserves artifacts and survivor stories. A memorial stands by the bridge over the Peshtigo River, and the Fire Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
And yet, more than 150 years later, outside of Wisconsin, the story is still barely a footnote.
So the next time someone mentions Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, you can smile and say, "Sure, but have you heard about Peshtigo?"
Further reading
Dig deeper:
- Wisconsin Historical Society – Peshtigo Fire of 1871
- National Weather Service Green Bay – Historical Summary
- U.S. National Park Service – Peshtigo Fire Cemetery, National Register of Historic Places
- Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help – History of the Apparition and the Fire
- Rutkow, E. (2012). American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the Making of a Nation
- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2004). Investigation of Biela’s Comet and the 1871 Midwest Fires
The Source: The Wisconsin Weather Experts; Wisconsin Historical Society; NWS Green Bay; US National Park Service; Rutkow, E; American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics