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Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History
On October 8, 1871—the same night as the Great Chicago Fire—the lumber town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, was struck with a five-mile-wide wall of flames, borne on tornado-force winds of one hundred miles per hour that tore across more than 2,400 square miles of land, obliterating the town in less than one hour and killing more than two thousand people.
At the center of the blowout were politically driven newsmen Luther Noyes and Franklin Tilton, money-seeking lumber baron Isaac Stephenson, parish priest Father Peter Pernin, and meteorologist Increase Lapham. In Firestorm at Peshtigo, Denise Gess and William Lutz vividly re-create the personal and political battles leading to this monumental natural disaster, and deliver it from the lost annals of American history.
At the center of the blowout were politically driven newsmen Luther Noyes and Franklin Tilton, money-seeking lumber baron Isaac Stephenson, parish priest Father Peter Pernin, and meteorologist Increase Lapham. In Firestorm at Peshtigo, Denise Gess and William Lutz vividly re-create the personal and political battles leading to this monumental natural disaster, and deliver it from the lost annals of American history.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 2, 2002
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January 26, 2024
“Within five minutes no one in Peshtigo could distinguish the main fire from the tornado or the main fire from the secondary fires or the firebrands. The fires throughout Oconto County had ‘crowned’ in the trees and when a fire crowns in the forest even trained firefighters get out of its way. At this point the fire was reaching maximum temperatures. It was creating huge convection updrafts, which in turn intensified the fire’s wind. The gorging fire, hungry for oxygen and determined to maintain its life, belched flamethrowers or firebrands in advance of itself. These long darts of flame projected from the crown fire are capable of leaping to trees hundreds of yards ahead of the advancing fire. When these angry flames hit a target, they created more wind, while behind them the whirling advancing fire – already a behemoth churning mountain – swept these multiple vortices of wind and flame into is greedy arms, in turn gaining even more heat and strength…”
- Denise Gess and William Lutz, Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History
On October 8, 1871, two of the deadliest fires in American history took place at almost the exact same time. One of the fires became a legend. The other has nearly been forgotten.
In Chicago, a blaze broke out – with blame traditionally pinned to an Irish immigrant woman and her cow – that destroyed over three square miles of the city and killed around three-hundred people. The tale of this inferno has passed into lore. If you ever go to Chicago, you will hear about it, endlessly.
That same night, two-hundred-and-fifty miles to the north, a voracious forest fire whipped by a literal tornado – or so the author’s claim – hit the logging town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. There, as many as 2,500 people were killed, many turned to ash and blown to the winds, never to be seen again. Despite a body count approximately eight times greater than Chicago, it is likely you have only heard a passing reference to the apocalypse that leveled Peshtigo.
For whatever reason, the story of Peshtigo has never gained traction. Likely this is a function of several realities. First, many of those who died in Peshtigo and its surrounding forests were immigrants, many quite recent. Dozens or hundreds of people died without leaving a trace, and quite possibly without the rest of their families knowing they’d been devoured. Secondly, there is dearth of first-person primary accounts, making a narrative of Peshtigo far more difficult to construct than the less lethal conflagration on the Second City.
To that end, Denise Gess and William Lutz’s Firestorm at Peshtigo is a worthy read, despite its flaws.
But since we’re on the topic, let’s begin with the flaws.
***
Structurally, this is sort of a mess. The authors attempt to present this material in a novelistic fashion, as a pastiche of personal stories of Peshtigo’s inhabitants. However, the aforementioned paucity of accounts means that Gess and Lutz really struggle to create any coherent storylines. Instead, they rapidly hop from person to person, first the owner of the Peshtigo sawmill, next a French missionary, third a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, switching perspectives so quickly it makes your head spin. I suppose this amped up pace and rapid cutting is supposed to keep you from realizing that the authors are simply padding out pages until the fire. It is emblematic of this book’s slipshod framework that the half-hearted dramatis personae at the front is not even alphabetical.
In my opinion, a good natural disaster book – whether about a hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, or fire – blends personal accounts with the science behind the event. Here, Gess and Lutz certainly feint in this direction, attempting to discuss the climatic conditions – hot, dry, and windy – and the nascent, primitive state of weather forecasting. Unfortunately, much of this material is hampered by the erratic, hippity-hoppity flow that I mentioned above. A little more focus, along with much tighter editing, would have gone a long way here.
***
With all that said, most of Firestorm at Peshtigo’s sins are forgiven by the accounts of the fire. There are some harrowing passages here, gripping, terrifying, and horrifying. The force described by Gess and Lutz is little less powerful than a nuclear explosion. Buildings were torn apart. Individuals huddling in wells or cellars were suffocated. Families on the road were run down and immolated. The authors note that one of the reasons so few written accounts exist is because the men and women who came out of this hellfire never wanted to talk about it again. They saw things that could not be unseen. They saw things that could not be described in words.
The fire sections are rather brief, but are absolutely effective. Just as good is the aftermath, as the half-alive stumbled bleary-eyed and blistered through a flattened, ashen landscape. It put me in mind of the eyewitness testimony of Hiroshima survivors:
After a slow start, Firestorm at Peshtigo finishes quite strong, buoyed by the authors’ self-evident passion for this story. That passion, along with the innate primality of the story, lands an emotional punch.
***
The thing I’ll most remember about Firestorm at Peshtigo is a small, poorly-framed black-and-white photograph of a rather simple, four-sided obelisk that sits today at the May’s Corners Cemetery in Marinette County, Wisconsin. Engraved in the stone are twelve separate names, each name belonging to a member of the Newberry family. The oldest Newberry was thirty-two; the youngest just an infant. The inscription is short and blunt and all the more breathtaking because of the emotion-shorn terseness: “All Died Oct. 8 1871.”
While I will undoubtedly soon forget about the literary merits on display here, the substance of these pages will likely stick a bit longer. It seems to me there is a timelessness to grief that can resonate across the centuries. We know precious little of the men, women, and children who were overtaken by flame on that distant October. Of the many dead, only the luckiest were even afforded a gravesite. Most returned to dust. Yet in recalling their struggles in the moments before their deaths, we are strongly reminded that they once lived.
- Denise Gess and William Lutz, Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History
On October 8, 1871, two of the deadliest fires in American history took place at almost the exact same time. One of the fires became a legend. The other has nearly been forgotten.
In Chicago, a blaze broke out – with blame traditionally pinned to an Irish immigrant woman and her cow – that destroyed over three square miles of the city and killed around three-hundred people. The tale of this inferno has passed into lore. If you ever go to Chicago, you will hear about it, endlessly.
That same night, two-hundred-and-fifty miles to the north, a voracious forest fire whipped by a literal tornado – or so the author’s claim – hit the logging town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. There, as many as 2,500 people were killed, many turned to ash and blown to the winds, never to be seen again. Despite a body count approximately eight times greater than Chicago, it is likely you have only heard a passing reference to the apocalypse that leveled Peshtigo.
For whatever reason, the story of Peshtigo has never gained traction. Likely this is a function of several realities. First, many of those who died in Peshtigo and its surrounding forests were immigrants, many quite recent. Dozens or hundreds of people died without leaving a trace, and quite possibly without the rest of their families knowing they’d been devoured. Secondly, there is dearth of first-person primary accounts, making a narrative of Peshtigo far more difficult to construct than the less lethal conflagration on the Second City.
To that end, Denise Gess and William Lutz’s Firestorm at Peshtigo is a worthy read, despite its flaws.
But since we’re on the topic, let’s begin with the flaws.
***
Structurally, this is sort of a mess. The authors attempt to present this material in a novelistic fashion, as a pastiche of personal stories of Peshtigo’s inhabitants. However, the aforementioned paucity of accounts means that Gess and Lutz really struggle to create any coherent storylines. Instead, they rapidly hop from person to person, first the owner of the Peshtigo sawmill, next a French missionary, third a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, switching perspectives so quickly it makes your head spin. I suppose this amped up pace and rapid cutting is supposed to keep you from realizing that the authors are simply padding out pages until the fire. It is emblematic of this book’s slipshod framework that the half-hearted dramatis personae at the front is not even alphabetical.
In my opinion, a good natural disaster book – whether about a hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, or fire – blends personal accounts with the science behind the event. Here, Gess and Lutz certainly feint in this direction, attempting to discuss the climatic conditions – hot, dry, and windy – and the nascent, primitive state of weather forecasting. Unfortunately, much of this material is hampered by the erratic, hippity-hoppity flow that I mentioned above. A little more focus, along with much tighter editing, would have gone a long way here.
***
With all that said, most of Firestorm at Peshtigo’s sins are forgiven by the accounts of the fire. There are some harrowing passages here, gripping, terrifying, and horrifying. The force described by Gess and Lutz is little less powerful than a nuclear explosion. Buildings were torn apart. Individuals huddling in wells or cellars were suffocated. Families on the road were run down and immolated. The authors note that one of the reasons so few written accounts exist is because the men and women who came out of this hellfire never wanted to talk about it again. They saw things that could not be unseen. They saw things that could not be described in words.
The fire sections are rather brief, but are absolutely effective. Just as good is the aftermath, as the half-alive stumbled bleary-eyed and blistered through a flattened, ashen landscape. It put me in mind of the eyewitness testimony of Hiroshima survivors:
After more than six hours in the water, William Newberry…and two women crawled up the creek bank… They sat on the bank, huddled together, waiting. During the minutes or hours that passed (neither Newberry or the women would ever be certain of the precise amount of time they sat on the dirt of that creek bank) they had no idea what they should do. They had entered the soupy, muddled dimension of grief-time and bewilderment in which the normal world of rituals, chores, and expectations had collapsed. In this post-fire landscape even sound had been altered: moaning and weeping replaced laughter and talk, crackling and spitting from the distant fires still simmering replaced birdsong. There was no way to assess the extinction of life and nature facing them. They could only wait…
After a slow start, Firestorm at Peshtigo finishes quite strong, buoyed by the authors’ self-evident passion for this story. That passion, along with the innate primality of the story, lands an emotional punch.
***
The thing I’ll most remember about Firestorm at Peshtigo is a small, poorly-framed black-and-white photograph of a rather simple, four-sided obelisk that sits today at the May’s Corners Cemetery in Marinette County, Wisconsin. Engraved in the stone are twelve separate names, each name belonging to a member of the Newberry family. The oldest Newberry was thirty-two; the youngest just an infant. The inscription is short and blunt and all the more breathtaking because of the emotion-shorn terseness: “All Died Oct. 8 1871.”
While I will undoubtedly soon forget about the literary merits on display here, the substance of these pages will likely stick a bit longer. It seems to me there is a timelessness to grief that can resonate across the centuries. We know precious little of the men, women, and children who were overtaken by flame on that distant October. Of the many dead, only the luckiest were even afforded a gravesite. Most returned to dust. Yet in recalling their struggles in the moments before their deaths, we are strongly reminded that they once lived.
February 11, 2016
Very horrific in detail. Happening in 1871 on the same day as the Chicago fire, this WI tale relates the scientific and the historic events surrounding the massive firestorm which birthed "gustados" of approximately 2000 degrees F. Up to 2500 in 17 towns incinerated to calcified ash in hours. As opposed to about 300 deaths in Chicago, the reasons of science and of marketing obscures this reality in comparison, IMHO.
And to the "faults" this is five star for meteorology and physics of under ground ignition and fire wall movements. To the participants 4 star, especially for input and outcomes re Ogden. But for cohesion to writing style, it is three. And it is so realistically grizzly that I cannot round it up.
I am glad I read it. There was so much complete malarkey in my early life about the 1871 fires. Closer to reality are facts which have very little to do with humans at all. And it could happen in the North American continent again. Montana had one since. It turns sand to glass and even earth burns away.
And to the "faults" this is five star for meteorology and physics of under ground ignition and fire wall movements. To the participants 4 star, especially for input and outcomes re Ogden. But for cohesion to writing style, it is three. And it is so realistically grizzly that I cannot round it up.
I am glad I read it. There was so much complete malarkey in my early life about the 1871 fires. Closer to reality are facts which have very little to do with humans at all. And it could happen in the North American continent again. Montana had one since. It turns sand to glass and even earth burns away.
May 16, 2013
This was one chiller of a story, and yes, it really happened. Everyone knows about the great fire in Chicago in October 1871. But did you know that on that same day a town in northern Wisconsin was burned to the ground, with a loss of life that is estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,500 people. Well written with plenty of maps, photographs and drawings and advertising from the time. Recommended for anyone interested in the American frontier. Four stars overall.
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Denise...
For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Denise...
October 12, 2010
A slow build, but worth the wait for the firestorm. A simple book and a wild, wild story! Fantastic visual descriptions of the incredible calamity that quite literally engulfed seven entire towns in a monster curtain of fire. Poignant eyewitness tales abound. I read this book 3 years ago and can still recall some horrific scenes and some visual lessons in how fire moves and morphs. I've read a dozen books on firestorms, this one ranks at the top. A little gem worth discovering.
August 16, 2024
Probably more than 2,000 people were killed in a firestorm in Peshtigo, Wisconsin on the same night as the Great Chicago Fire. For weeks, there had been numerous large fires all around Lake Michigan and Green Bay. When the weather, winds, and existing fires exploded into a ghastly horror, very few people were able to survive. This book is a fascinating account of a rather obscure incidence in today’s world.
October 11, 2018
This story is incredible and tragic, which makes sense considering that it chronicles the deadliest fire in U. S. history.
My feelings are hard to really express. This is not a peaceful book, and there are no happy endings. At the same time it's beautiful--yet extremely tragic--and definitely gory.
The skilled writing adds a lot. The book is co-authored by a historian and a novelist, so while it's well-researched nonfiction, it has some of the qualities of a novel. That makes for a quick, enjoyable read.
How can I say I enjoyed reading about the horrendous deaths of 1,200+ people?!
The best thing about this book is that it's been on a bookshelf at home for the past 11 years, and I just discovered it's excellence!
My feelings are hard to really express. This is not a peaceful book, and there are no happy endings. At the same time it's beautiful--yet extremely tragic--and definitely gory.
The skilled writing adds a lot. The book is co-authored by a historian and a novelist, so while it's well-researched nonfiction, it has some of the qualities of a novel. That makes for a quick, enjoyable read.
How can I say I enjoyed reading about the horrendous deaths of 1,200+ people?!
The best thing about this book is that it's been on a bookshelf at home for the past 11 years, and I just discovered it's excellence!
June 3, 2021
We've all heard of the Great Chicago Fire, but the Peshtigo fire is not nearly as well known. The Chicago fire destroyed about 3.3 square miles and killed approximately 300 people, and left many thousands homeless - a devastating event for a major city. But the Peshtigo fire destroyed over 2,400 square miles and 12 communities (Peshtigo was the largest), and while the total deaths will never be known, the estimate is between 1,500 - 2,000 people killed. But since the Peshtigo fire happened on the same night as the Great Chicago Fire, it's been overshadowed in the historical record.
I have a thing for disaster nonfiction, and when I first heard about the Peshtigo fire in Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown (still one of my favorite disaster nonfiction reads!) I knew I had to learn more about it. This book has been on my shelf for a long time, and I'm glad I finally read it. It was shorter than I was hoping for, and I found the writing a little too scattered and lacking detail in a lot of places, especially in the second half of the book (although this could be to lack of source material). I'd still recommend it for anyone interested in disaster nonfiction or American frontier history.
I have a thing for disaster nonfiction, and when I first heard about the Peshtigo fire in Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894 by Daniel James Brown (still one of my favorite disaster nonfiction reads!) I knew I had to learn more about it. This book has been on my shelf for a long time, and I'm glad I finally read it. It was shorter than I was hoping for, and I found the writing a little too scattered and lacking detail in a lot of places, especially in the second half of the book (although this could be to lack of source material). I'd still recommend it for anyone interested in disaster nonfiction or American frontier history.
June 19, 2021
October 1871, a terrible fire ravaged the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. It blew in (literally as it was more or less a fire tornado) and killed over 2000 people quickly. Never heard of it? You're not alone. Even though it is one of the deadliest natural disasters in the US and still the deadliest fire in the US, it's often overshadowed by another fire that occured that night - the Great Chicago Fire (even though only 300 people died from that fire).
I learned a lot about this tragic disaster in 'Firestorm at Peshtigo' but the writing definitely left something to be desired. One of the authors is a historian while the other is a novelist which may not have made the best match. It's descriptive but often randomly jumps around without much rhyme or reason. I give it high ratings for content and research but lower rating for the subpar writing.
I learned a lot about this tragic disaster in 'Firestorm at Peshtigo' but the writing definitely left something to be desired. One of the authors is a historian while the other is a novelist which may not have made the best match. It's descriptive but often randomly jumps around without much rhyme or reason. I give it high ratings for content and research but lower rating for the subpar writing.
August 18, 2025
I never heard of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, much less the great fire at Peshtigo. The fact that this fire storm happened the same day as the great Chicago fire overshadowed the Peshtigo conflagration. The authors did a commendable job in laying the land prior to the fire and the context with the blaze in Chicago. While no one really knows how many lives were lost, it seems to be in the 2000 area, which makes it one of the great fires in our countries history.
March 25, 2024
Growing up in Chicagoland, every kid knew all about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. What we didn’t know was that on the same day, an even greater catastrophe took place 8 hours north of here in the Peshtigo area of north east Wisconsin and the UP. Going to northern Wisconsin and roaming around in the woods, it is impossible to miss the charred tree stumps, even now. I once took the time to talk to a Forest Ranger from the US Forest Service about those stumps and she said based upon the area I was describing, they were probably Eastern White Pine stumps and had been originally logged before 1880. What I didn’t know, was that the loggers left immense amounts of ‘slash’, or the branches and tops of the trees on the ground after they ran the logs down the rivers. In other words, there were piles of flammable tree debris everywhere.
Which brings me to this book. The subtitle states: “A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History”. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but Gess & Lutz do a fine job in pointing out that the people of the time were completely used to frequent fires basically all the time. In fact, a prevailing idea of the time was that wildfires were actually a good idea and may even create rain. Uh, what?
Anyway, the authors can actually write. Considering they are both professors at Rutgers, this is not surprising. Here they are on p. 112: “The dried marshes lying six miles south of Peshtigo had been emitting gases for weeks. Now waves of gas mixed into the smoke to cast an eerie radiation glow over the roads. Sometime in the later part of the afternoon a pack of cats herded together and scrambled along Oconto Avenue as if being prodded by ghosts. A deer, perhaps the same startled deer who’d been living at Levi Hale’s place, stumbled out into the road, then stood unharmed and unblinking. Loose dogs who would have normally attacked the deer crouched near its feet without so much as a whimper.” From what I already know about wildfires, I know that animals that would ordinarily be prey or predator, this is not unusual behavior. But it would have been extremely odd to those folks at the time. And while they weren’t totally oblivious, they were extremely slow to take action. Also, a 'pack of cats'?!?
Still, this book took a lot longer to get through than normally for the simple reason that the facts are so horrible. Seriously, who wants to read about things like animals wandering around with their ears burned off? I had to put it down sometimes to think about something less dreadful.
We really don’t know how many people died in the Peshtigo Fire. At least 1,500, and probably closer to 2,500. In many cases, there was nothing left; not even ashes. After the fire, it was clear that Peshtigo would be just like many other little communities that lived and died with the big trees. Even today, there is no great monument to the Fire. People want to forget; and you can’t blame them.
I think this sentence on p. 200 is a fitting epitaph: “Peshtigo was just another small town with no distinguishing economic characteristics.”
Which brings me to this book. The subtitle states: “A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History”. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but Gess & Lutz do a fine job in pointing out that the people of the time were completely used to frequent fires basically all the time. In fact, a prevailing idea of the time was that wildfires were actually a good idea and may even create rain. Uh, what?
Anyway, the authors can actually write. Considering they are both professors at Rutgers, this is not surprising. Here they are on p. 112: “The dried marshes lying six miles south of Peshtigo had been emitting gases for weeks. Now waves of gas mixed into the smoke to cast an eerie radiation glow over the roads. Sometime in the later part of the afternoon a pack of cats herded together and scrambled along Oconto Avenue as if being prodded by ghosts. A deer, perhaps the same startled deer who’d been living at Levi Hale’s place, stumbled out into the road, then stood unharmed and unblinking. Loose dogs who would have normally attacked the deer crouched near its feet without so much as a whimper.” From what I already know about wildfires, I know that animals that would ordinarily be prey or predator, this is not unusual behavior. But it would have been extremely odd to those folks at the time. And while they weren’t totally oblivious, they were extremely slow to take action. Also, a 'pack of cats'?!?
Still, this book took a lot longer to get through than normally for the simple reason that the facts are so horrible. Seriously, who wants to read about things like animals wandering around with their ears burned off? I had to put it down sometimes to think about something less dreadful.
We really don’t know how many people died in the Peshtigo Fire. At least 1,500, and probably closer to 2,500. In many cases, there was nothing left; not even ashes. After the fire, it was clear that Peshtigo would be just like many other little communities that lived and died with the big trees. Even today, there is no great monument to the Fire. People want to forget; and you can’t blame them.
I think this sentence on p. 200 is a fitting epitaph: “Peshtigo was just another small town with no distinguishing economic characteristics.”
April 13, 2025
Most people outside of Wisconsin and perhaps the UP of Michigan are probably unfamiliar with the Peshtigo fire. It occurred the same night as the Chicago fire but was far worse. Not only is the deadliest wildfire in the US, it is the deadliest wildfire in the world. It is such a devastating tale with estimated lives lost up to 2,500, though there is no way to get an accurate count. Those who survived did so by spending the night in the river amongst burning and falling debris. The fire burned 1.5 million acres and 2 billion trees. The entire town of Peshtigo, as well as 11 other communities were destroyed.
For those who decided to rebuild, Mother Nature, the bitch that she is, was not done with them yet. The following year she sent biblical plagues to destroy their new crops.
Another Chicago connection was to the first Chicago mayor, William Ogden. Ogden had significant losses in the Chicago and in Peshtigo fires that night.
It is a facinating read, but at times difficult. Survivors tell of turning to see family members consumed by fire as they ran for the river.
For those who decided to rebuild, Mother Nature, the bitch that she is, was not done with them yet. The following year she sent biblical plagues to destroy their new crops.
Another Chicago connection was to the first Chicago mayor, William Ogden. Ogden had significant losses in the Chicago and in Peshtigo fires that night.
It is a facinating read, but at times difficult. Survivors tell of turning to see family members consumed by fire as they ran for the river.
August 19, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. We stopped through Peshtigo, Wisconsin, recently and I learned a little of the town's history. A devastating five mile-long fire struck the town on October 8, 1871, killing 2000 people--the same night as the Great Chicago Fire. The authors had a wealth of documentary evidence to draw from describing the events and people involved, but couldn't put it together into a coherent, compelling narrative. What remains is a patchy series of unrelated anecdotes.
October 28, 2025
When I visited the area of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, I asked what book would be best to read concerning the Firestorm of 1871; I then bought this book.
The weeks leading up to the fire and the fire's aftermath captivated this reader. "Meeting" some of the survivors and learning their stories was painful.
When I first learned of this devastating fire, I wondered what ignited it? Seemingly, there were several factors, one being it hadn't rained in 10-11 weeks. Another was described on page 28:
"When work on the railroad was begun, fires were started to clear the right of way. The contractors carelessly allowed these to spread and they ran through the country with startling rapidity feeding on the dry forests."
Increase Lapham was a meteorologist at the time and described in the book as a "twentieth-century thinker trapped in the nineteenth century" (pg 79). Nearly a year after the fire, he filed a report on the theory and causes and phenomena of the fire. He wrote: "...Burning gas (carburetted hydrogen) was produced by the excessive heat of the fire much faster than is could be consumed; hence it arose in great masses, taking the place of the atmospheric air; these masses were driven about by the wind, and would cause death by suffocation, precisely as when common gas is allowed to fill a sleeping apartment. Such masses of combustible gas could only be consumed at the surface where they come in contact with the oxygen of the air; hence they would present the appearance of great balls of fire. Whenever the air penetrated the gas, it at once became explosive..." (pg 205).
The Notes and Bibliography at the end of the book was informative as well as the book.
The weeks leading up to the fire and the fire's aftermath captivated this reader. "Meeting" some of the survivors and learning their stories was painful.
When I first learned of this devastating fire, I wondered what ignited it? Seemingly, there were several factors, one being it hadn't rained in 10-11 weeks. Another was described on page 28:
"When work on the railroad was begun, fires were started to clear the right of way. The contractors carelessly allowed these to spread and they ran through the country with startling rapidity feeding on the dry forests."
Increase Lapham was a meteorologist at the time and described in the book as a "twentieth-century thinker trapped in the nineteenth century" (pg 79). Nearly a year after the fire, he filed a report on the theory and causes and phenomena of the fire. He wrote: "...Burning gas (carburetted hydrogen) was produced by the excessive heat of the fire much faster than is could be consumed; hence it arose in great masses, taking the place of the atmospheric air; these masses were driven about by the wind, and would cause death by suffocation, precisely as when common gas is allowed to fill a sleeping apartment. Such masses of combustible gas could only be consumed at the surface where they come in contact with the oxygen of the air; hence they would present the appearance of great balls of fire. Whenever the air penetrated the gas, it at once became explosive..." (pg 205).
The Notes and Bibliography at the end of the book was informative as well as the book.
December 30, 2019
This was FASCINATING.
February 4, 2024
Interesting story. This took place same time as the Chicago Fire, but I had never heard of it. It was also in Illinois.
March 1, 2024
The best nonfiction story I’ve read. Truly harrowing first-person accounts of a hellish disaster. Vivid imagery and word painting, well done. Elicited a stronger reaction than the King I’ve read before.
August 18, 2024
3.5 stars only because I did not finish this book… very interesting history but I had to return it to the library lol
September 15, 2023
The content and depth of research is amazing. Taking a star off only for writing style. Everyone should read about this fire - absolutely incredible!
November 16, 2008
On October 8, 1871, a wildfire of appalling proportions erupted in the region surrounding Peshtigo, Wisconsin, which was located a few miles west of the Green Bay portion of Lake Michigan. Far larger and more destructive than the great Chicago Fire which erupted the same day -- later, it was determined that a ferocious weather-system holding the entire region in its relentless grip was responsible for both fires as well as other fires that erupted nearby -- the firestorm that incinerated Peshtigo and surrounding towns accounted for an official body-count of 2,400 souls, and unofficially, for far more, including the trappers, tramps, homeless people, explorers, fishermen, Indians, and wild animals that must have died in the fire. Strangely, though fires had been burning for weeks in surrounding towns, mountains of pine slash and sawdust from local lumber mills lay everywhere, and the weather had been arid and hotter than normal all summer, most of the citizens of Peshtigo did not take alarm at these conditions and flee to safer areas. They had been told by scientists who supposedly knew what they were talking about that "fires generate rain" (an illusion created by the fact that the heat from wildfires push up already existing mammatus clouds and keep them from dropping their burden of rain until the fire is out) and similar soothing platitudes, and as leaving would entail hardship and, probably loss of income, they told themselves that the rains would come soon and any fire danger would be over. Unfortunately, the rains didn't come. Instead, that hellish inversion socked in over Wisconsin, Michigan, northern Illinois, and Minnesota, driving temperatures up and up and up, robbing even more moisture from already dangerously dehydrated vegetation and the mill detritus, and setting the stage for a disaster whose like had never before been experienced. The result was a firestorm of epic proportions, "natural" in that it was not set by human hands, but nevertheless the product of human ignorance, stupidity, and greed. But while the great Chicago fire is remembered in song and story, the firestorm at Peshtigo was very nearly forgotten by everyone but those who had been injured and lost loved ones and all they owned there for decades. Finally historians are beginning to memorialize the Peshtigo disaster as it deserves to be remembered and analyzed. FIRESTORM AT PESHTIGO is a great start at that task.
January 9, 2022
As a resident of NE Wisconsin and driving through Peshtigo many times a year, this was an important story that I wanted to read. After realizing how significant the loss was here compared with the Chicago fire of the same day, I was glad to tell the story. Many people would believe the Chicago fire was worse than Peshtigo or not even know of the Peshtigo fire.
I only gave it three stars because it was difficult to follow. I found that I struggled to follow the stories of the different people and had to go back and forth from where I was currently reading to earlier parts of the story to attempt to keep up. It was also disappointing how much the authors Gess and Lutz talked about life and the people in Peshtigo before the fire and then only briefly discussed what happened to all the families afterward.
I appreciate how much research was done, and I am sure it was difficult to find much of the information due to survivors not wanting to relive the events. I am a visual person, so I also appreciate the pictures in the middle of the book. I thought it was refreshing that Gess and Lutz either inadvertently or purposefully pointed the finger at how humanity's greed changed the Earth leading to the problems of the severity of this fire. Kudos to them!
I do not have another story of this fire to recommend, so I would recommend reading this book for the information about the fire.
I only gave it three stars because it was difficult to follow. I found that I struggled to follow the stories of the different people and had to go back and forth from where I was currently reading to earlier parts of the story to attempt to keep up. It was also disappointing how much the authors Gess and Lutz talked about life and the people in Peshtigo before the fire and then only briefly discussed what happened to all the families afterward.
I appreciate how much research was done, and I am sure it was difficult to find much of the information due to survivors not wanting to relive the events. I am a visual person, so I also appreciate the pictures in the middle of the book. I thought it was refreshing that Gess and Lutz either inadvertently or purposefully pointed the finger at how humanity's greed changed the Earth leading to the problems of the severity of this fire. Kudos to them!
I do not have another story of this fire to recommend, so I would recommend reading this book for the information about the fire.
July 20, 2016
Totally fascinating story about a much larger and deadlier fire that took place on the same date as the infamous Chicago Fire of October 8 1871. This one also may have had an F5 tornado during its outburst, but no one can confirm that. Likely over 2000 people died in the Peshtigo blaze, compared to about 300 people in Chicago.
So while weather and history are fun subjects for me, the writing in the book dropped this one down to a 3 star read (in better hands, I'm sure I could have given this 5 stars). I can't tell if it's because there's not as much recorded detail about this fire, if too many of the witnesses died, or if the writer's a hack, but this story should have been much more gripping than it was. For example, towards the end of the book, the author speaks of an early meteorologist who claimed that there were flammable gases in the air around Peshtigo. The author shows that another scientist disagreed. The author then states that the meteorologist was right, but doesn't say what gases were present, how they got there, how the meteorologist came to suspect they were there, or how the author now knows that they were actually present.
Still, I'm glad I read it, I just hope someday someone with better talent or better research comes along and writes a better version.
So while weather and history are fun subjects for me, the writing in the book dropped this one down to a 3 star read (in better hands, I'm sure I could have given this 5 stars). I can't tell if it's because there's not as much recorded detail about this fire, if too many of the witnesses died, or if the writer's a hack, but this story should have been much more gripping than it was. For example, towards the end of the book, the author speaks of an early meteorologist who claimed that there were flammable gases in the air around Peshtigo. The author shows that another scientist disagreed. The author then states that the meteorologist was right, but doesn't say what gases were present, how they got there, how the meteorologist came to suspect they were there, or how the author now knows that they were actually present.
Still, I'm glad I read it, I just hope someday someone with better talent or better research comes along and writes a better version.
May 23, 2014
Fire books are sad. And scary. This particular fire was a natural phenomenon. If you have studied on major wildfires you know they are capable of creating their own weather. Rain, wind.... Tornados. The firestorm that struck Peshtigo, Wisconsin the same night as the Great Chicago fire was a rare event of almost unimaginable destruction. Trees were ripped out of the ground, not just burned. Buildings blasted from their foundations. People reduced to ash . Even the earth itself, the soil, was burnt several feet deep. These tales are as heart breaking as they are mind blowing. And kind of like old stories of hurricanes, small towns that took years to create could be erased in hours. As I say in most of my reviews on fires books... Not for the faint of heart. But it will teach you to have a great respect for the destructive powers of fire. Even though no one really knows exactly how this fire started..... I'll be willing to bet that if you read this book, the next time you go camping you'll make SURE you put your fire out COMPLETELY!
March 11, 2013
You probably know The Great Chicago Fire. Only, did you know that "The Fire" was really the 31st and 32nd fires of that month? Did you know that 250 people died in that fire? The firestorm that swept the Peshtigo area killed between 1,000 and 2,500 people. Entire families died by burns, suffocation, or starvation because of the firestorm. While both are tragedies, I can't help but wonder why the Chicago Fire is one that everyone remembers.
Well written. Entertaining as well as horrifying.
Well written. Entertaining as well as horrifying.
December 14, 2022
This was a chilling work of nonfiction; it reads like a novel. I read it with my book club a few months ago, and certain images are still on my mind. It's timely, as well, as this tragedy was affected (and made worse) by greed and political issues.
September 5, 2007
Great historical novel on small-town Wisconsin tragedy. Interesting information on how the Peshtigo Times covered the event and helped the community recover.
December 14, 2014
A remarkable telling of a holocaust that occurred at the same time as the great Chicago Fire of 1871 but got little attention in spite taking 10 times the lives and property destruction.
May 25, 2020
What happened at Peshtigo, Wisconsin on October 8, 1871 has mostly disappeared from the American consciousness. Despite the rising number of forest fires and the impacts of global warming, the lessons taught by this horrific event have largely gone unheeded. Why forgotten? It burned the same day as the famous Great Chicago Fire, an event replete with its own mythology (see Mrs. O'Leary's cow). While people around the world were transfixed by the information coming rapidly out of Chicago, it would be days to weeks before anyone knew about Peshtigo, because the telegraph lines that connected the logging community to Green Bay, Wisconsin had burned down.
Also true was the fact that Peshtigo was a remote logging town in rapid development, along with several other local communities. Yet enough knew about it that people were arriving daily by the dozens, looking for work and a new home in the dense forests of the upper Midwest. This was the boom times, an old growth forest with untold riches just waiting to be harvested, shaped, and sent by water to America's larger cities.
As with modern forest fires, the seeds of Peshtigo's destruction were largely sown by man: sloppy logging practices, which left the land covered in remnants that the fire would convert to fuel; careless use of fire in clearing land; choosing profit over safety. Small fires were burning all over the upper Midwest in the days before the fire, largely ignored as just part of the business of living there. But a months-long drought, combined with a fierce low pressure system from the South, would create a terrible conflagration.
The fire that consumed Peshtigo and the surrounding communities would consume a billion trees and burn at an astonishing two thousand degrees. Rapidly racing flames would overtake hundreds trying vainly to flee; people, houses, trees, and animals were seen to be literally bursting into flames. Others who hid in their cellars or wells would be suffocated as the ravenous firestorm consumed all of the available oxygen to fuel its progress. Those who found water could still be terribly burned by radiant heat. There was no place to hide.
Firm death tolls will never be known. Many people were burned so intensely that any trace of them disappeared. Train cars were burned down to the wheels, themselves melted into grotesque shapes. While the "great" fire of Chicago claimed 300 lives, Pestigo's lowest estimate is 1,200-1,500, with some believing that as many as 2,500 may have perished.
Little has been written about the Peshtigo Fire, especially compared to other events like Chicago. Firestorm at Peshtigo gives the disaster its first significant examination in book form since the late 1960s. It profiles the lives of several locals, including the local newspapermen; the town priest, who would later write a first-person account; and the leaders of the community, including the first mayor of the city of Chicago. Understanding fire and weather was in its infancy, and the authors examine the nascent national weather bureau and how its operations left the area without any warning that a storm was coming. They capture the heartbreak of citizens looking to better their lot but who were left adrift by the disaster, losing homes, jobs, and in some cases as many as ten of their family members.
A recent Weather Channel show on forest fires rated the Peshtigo Fire as the worst in American history. It is still often referred to as "the forgotten fire." Perhaps some events are so terrible that we simply have the efface them from our memories. Firestorm at Peshtigo provides a poignant and devastating account that proves that this should not be the case. We are certainly repeating some of the same mistakes, and the events that transpired there should be a memorial and a warning for generations to come.
Also true was the fact that Peshtigo was a remote logging town in rapid development, along with several other local communities. Yet enough knew about it that people were arriving daily by the dozens, looking for work and a new home in the dense forests of the upper Midwest. This was the boom times, an old growth forest with untold riches just waiting to be harvested, shaped, and sent by water to America's larger cities.
As with modern forest fires, the seeds of Peshtigo's destruction were largely sown by man: sloppy logging practices, which left the land covered in remnants that the fire would convert to fuel; careless use of fire in clearing land; choosing profit over safety. Small fires were burning all over the upper Midwest in the days before the fire, largely ignored as just part of the business of living there. But a months-long drought, combined with a fierce low pressure system from the South, would create a terrible conflagration.
The fire that consumed Peshtigo and the surrounding communities would consume a billion trees and burn at an astonishing two thousand degrees. Rapidly racing flames would overtake hundreds trying vainly to flee; people, houses, trees, and animals were seen to be literally bursting into flames. Others who hid in their cellars or wells would be suffocated as the ravenous firestorm consumed all of the available oxygen to fuel its progress. Those who found water could still be terribly burned by radiant heat. There was no place to hide.
Firm death tolls will never be known. Many people were burned so intensely that any trace of them disappeared. Train cars were burned down to the wheels, themselves melted into grotesque shapes. While the "great" fire of Chicago claimed 300 lives, Pestigo's lowest estimate is 1,200-1,500, with some believing that as many as 2,500 may have perished.
Little has been written about the Peshtigo Fire, especially compared to other events like Chicago. Firestorm at Peshtigo gives the disaster its first significant examination in book form since the late 1960s. It profiles the lives of several locals, including the local newspapermen; the town priest, who would later write a first-person account; and the leaders of the community, including the first mayor of the city of Chicago. Understanding fire and weather was in its infancy, and the authors examine the nascent national weather bureau and how its operations left the area without any warning that a storm was coming. They capture the heartbreak of citizens looking to better their lot but who were left adrift by the disaster, losing homes, jobs, and in some cases as many as ten of their family members.
A recent Weather Channel show on forest fires rated the Peshtigo Fire as the worst in American history. It is still often referred to as "the forgotten fire." Perhaps some events are so terrible that we simply have the efface them from our memories. Firestorm at Peshtigo provides a poignant and devastating account that proves that this should not be the case. We are certainly repeating some of the same mistakes, and the events that transpired there should be a memorial and a warning for generations to come.
August 28, 2019
Fascinating book about one of the worst natural disasters in American history. I'm just going to say "read the book" because other reviews have certainly described the story itself as does the dust jacket. But I do want to tell a short story of my own with regard to this book.
Born and raised in California, schooled in public schools of the 1960s and 70s, I'd never heard of the Peshtigo Fire. I have to admit, after reading about it, I wonder why this isn't taught in public school just as a matter of history. There are many lessons on land use and conservation that could be taught.
ANYWAY, in October 2017 wildfires raged through my home county. In particular, the Tubbs Fire raged through Santa Rosa where I live on...October 8th, same date as the Peshtigo Fire. It took with it 5% of the homes in Santa Rosa. Hurricane force winds blew football sized embers hundreds of yards to start fires well in front of the main wall of fire sweeping across the county. Firefighters and other first responders were stretched across the county valiantly trying to save people from the onrushing flames. In the early morning hours of October 9th, I found myself in its path as I evacuated my elderly parents. I've never seen fire move the way it did -- faster than water pouring from a broken dam, smoke so thick and black I couldn't see two feet in front of me, fire blazing across ten lanes of asphalt on Hwy 101, jumping from the east side of town to the west...I could go on, but I won't. Anyone interested may look up information on the wildfires of October 2017 in Sonoma County to get more details.
It took almost a month but our fires were eventually contained and snuffed out. It was then I did a little research to see just how bad the fire was when compared to other fires. In California, ours was the worst until, sadly, a year later, the fire in Paradise did even more damage with greater loss of life. Having established that our fires were very bad, I checked information on fires throughout the United States and that's when I learned of the Peshtigo Fire. Now, to be fair, that fire was far worse in many ways than the fires we experienced here in Sonoma County, but there are also plenty of eerie similarities, not the least one being the same exact date, October 8th, of the disasters!
ANYWAY...I digress too much. Just read the book. It stands on its own as a horrifying bit of history that should be taught in school, as a cautionary tale if nothing else.
Born and raised in California, schooled in public schools of the 1960s and 70s, I'd never heard of the Peshtigo Fire. I have to admit, after reading about it, I wonder why this isn't taught in public school just as a matter of history. There are many lessons on land use and conservation that could be taught.
ANYWAY, in October 2017 wildfires raged through my home county. In particular, the Tubbs Fire raged through Santa Rosa where I live on...October 8th, same date as the Peshtigo Fire. It took with it 5% of the homes in Santa Rosa. Hurricane force winds blew football sized embers hundreds of yards to start fires well in front of the main wall of fire sweeping across the county. Firefighters and other first responders were stretched across the county valiantly trying to save people from the onrushing flames. In the early morning hours of October 9th, I found myself in its path as I evacuated my elderly parents. I've never seen fire move the way it did -- faster than water pouring from a broken dam, smoke so thick and black I couldn't see two feet in front of me, fire blazing across ten lanes of asphalt on Hwy 101, jumping from the east side of town to the west...I could go on, but I won't. Anyone interested may look up information on the wildfires of October 2017 in Sonoma County to get more details.
It took almost a month but our fires were eventually contained and snuffed out. It was then I did a little research to see just how bad the fire was when compared to other fires. In California, ours was the worst until, sadly, a year later, the fire in Paradise did even more damage with greater loss of life. Having established that our fires were very bad, I checked information on fires throughout the United States and that's when I learned of the Peshtigo Fire. Now, to be fair, that fire was far worse in many ways than the fires we experienced here in Sonoma County, but there are also plenty of eerie similarities, not the least one being the same exact date, October 8th, of the disasters!
ANYWAY...I digress too much. Just read the book. It stands on its own as a horrifying bit of history that should be taught in school, as a cautionary tale if nothing else.
February 17, 2021
A little slow taking off, but gets better after Chapter 8 when the fire begins. The author does a pretty good job describing a play by play of what people were doing the minute up to the fire when they realized they had to run. The stories were collected from a variety of sources, which are all listed in the “Notes” section at the back of the book for further reading if interested. There are photos of a few of the survivors and town officials who played a huge part in the recovery efforts.
This fire was part of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which was the main headlines in all the newspapers. It destroyed “America’s” town and killed around 300 people. Chicago boasted that this was the greatest fire in history; therefore, they received the majority of the news coverage.
But, the greater hell was in Peshtigo and the surrounding towns in Wisconsin where thousands of people lost their lives, survivors witnessed their loved ones, friends and neighbors burned alive in an instant. And those who made it to the river, burned and drowned in the river. Those who walked out of the river were badly burned. Of Peshtigo's 2000 residents, approximately 1,800 of them died on that day. All their stories are collected in these pages. Plus, more people died in the surrounding towns. The exact number of people who died will never be known. Charred remains were found even a few years after the fire. There was no official count ever taken.
It was always snowing ashes from the fires all around. The people were somewhat accustomed to this kind of atmosphere. In 1871, new arrivals were constantly clearing their land and burning the timber. This created a constant haze of smoke polluted air. Citizens walked around with hankies over their noses and mouths. They were constantly fighting off small fires that ignited here and there and were only a little more concerned when the snow of ash became so heavy, one couldn’t see their neighbors face. This was the norm for the lumber mill town of Peshtigo.
What they couldn’t see was the sleeping giant burning between Chicago and Michigan. When the low pressure from Galveston and the cold front from Canada merged over Lake Michigan area, it turned all the clearing fires and other surrounding raging fires into one great firestorm, much like an atomic bomb, with temperatures reaching up to at least 1800 degrees and fire tornadoes with speeds up to 100 mph.
This fire was part of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which was the main headlines in all the newspapers. It destroyed “America’s” town and killed around 300 people. Chicago boasted that this was the greatest fire in history; therefore, they received the majority of the news coverage.
But, the greater hell was in Peshtigo and the surrounding towns in Wisconsin where thousands of people lost their lives, survivors witnessed their loved ones, friends and neighbors burned alive in an instant. And those who made it to the river, burned and drowned in the river. Those who walked out of the river were badly burned. Of Peshtigo's 2000 residents, approximately 1,800 of them died on that day. All their stories are collected in these pages. Plus, more people died in the surrounding towns. The exact number of people who died will never be known. Charred remains were found even a few years after the fire. There was no official count ever taken.
It was always snowing ashes from the fires all around. The people were somewhat accustomed to this kind of atmosphere. In 1871, new arrivals were constantly clearing their land and burning the timber. This created a constant haze of smoke polluted air. Citizens walked around with hankies over their noses and mouths. They were constantly fighting off small fires that ignited here and there and were only a little more concerned when the snow of ash became so heavy, one couldn’t see their neighbors face. This was the norm for the lumber mill town of Peshtigo.
What they couldn’t see was the sleeping giant burning between Chicago and Michigan. When the low pressure from Galveston and the cold front from Canada merged over Lake Michigan area, it turned all the clearing fires and other surrounding raging fires into one great firestorm, much like an atomic bomb, with temperatures reaching up to at least 1800 degrees and fire tornadoes with speeds up to 100 mph.
May 4, 2018
I had never heard of Peshtigo, Wisconsin before reading this book, and now I will never forget it or its people. A friend lent me this book as we struggled to come to grips with the 3rd huge fire in less than 2 years to ravage California; and two of those fires had burned homes of my extended family.
In 1871 the Peshtigo fire destroyed the town, farms, forests, and parts of Chicago, even burning towns into Canada. But what most people remember is only the Chicago Fire. The loss of life was immeasurable; some accounts were over 2500 men, women and children perished. The survivors not only dealt with recovering from horrific burns, they also had nothing to come back to having lost members of their families and their homes. The town of Peshtigo was built around a farming community whose main industry was lumber, and the forests were plentiful—huge trees, by lakes, rivers to move the logs. Railroads being built, telegraph lines, new roads being cleared; but the push for rapid expansion left waste like sawdust, and timber piles in a town where everything was made out of wood, even the sidewalks. This created hazards, which were helped by a long drought and extreme weather conditions that ignited a devastating firestorm. So many things contributed to the fire, but only a few saw the danger, and those few had only small pieces of the bigger picture. It is good that we have their accounts, because a lot of what we know now about fires, weather, and fire science came from those few people. Unfortunately we are still making mistakes when it comes to helping people recover after these types of disasters. The authors did a magnificent job telling this part of America’s history, it is well researched and the writing isn’t boring or cumbersome: I was pulled in and touched emotionally, so I’m strongly recommending it with a little caution because there are some graphic accounts about the people and animals in the fire. 4 stars
In 1871 the Peshtigo fire destroyed the town, farms, forests, and parts of Chicago, even burning towns into Canada. But what most people remember is only the Chicago Fire. The loss of life was immeasurable; some accounts were over 2500 men, women and children perished. The survivors not only dealt with recovering from horrific burns, they also had nothing to come back to having lost members of their families and their homes. The town of Peshtigo was built around a farming community whose main industry was lumber, and the forests were plentiful—huge trees, by lakes, rivers to move the logs. Railroads being built, telegraph lines, new roads being cleared; but the push for rapid expansion left waste like sawdust, and timber piles in a town where everything was made out of wood, even the sidewalks. This created hazards, which were helped by a long drought and extreme weather conditions that ignited a devastating firestorm. So many things contributed to the fire, but only a few saw the danger, and those few had only small pieces of the bigger picture. It is good that we have their accounts, because a lot of what we know now about fires, weather, and fire science came from those few people. Unfortunately we are still making mistakes when it comes to helping people recover after these types of disasters. The authors did a magnificent job telling this part of America’s history, it is well researched and the writing isn’t boring or cumbersome: I was pulled in and touched emotionally, so I’m strongly recommending it with a little caution because there are some graphic accounts about the people and animals in the fire. 4 stars
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