Peshtigo Fire resulted in death tolls comparable to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peshtigo Fire The Peshtigo fire was a very large forest fire that took place on October 8, 1871, in and around Peshtigo, Wisconsin. It burned approximately 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) and was the deadliest wildfire in American history, with the estimated deaths of around 1,500 people, and possibly as many as 2,500. Occurring on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo fire has been largely forgotten. On the same day as the Peshtigo and Chicago fires, Holland and Manistee, Michigan (across Lake
Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 correspondence was Hayden's Report No. 7 to Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Spencer Baird, a bit of which is excerpted below: Yellowstone Lake, WY August 8th, 1871 - Dear Professor Baird, Your letters of June 6th and July 3rd were brought us from Fort Ellis by Lt. Doane who has just arrived to take command of our escort and accompany my party the remainder of the season. ... We arrived at the banks of the Yellow Stone Lake "[sic]" July 26th [actually July 28] and pitched our camp near the point where the river leaves the Lake. Hence