Great Michigan Fire loss, animal deaths, and forest devastation has never been determined. Also unknown is the total number of human deaths. Some estimates put the loss of life at fewer than 500, but they were largely based on families reporting their members missing. In 1871 in Michigan there were hundreds to thousands of lumberjacks and salesmen spread out across the state, along with settlers in remote areas, making it impossible to total the loss. Because these fires happened in the day other estimates of the Great Michigan Fire death toll is lower than the Great Chicago Fire's estimated 250-300 dead. One speculation,
Great Fire of London the City's 80,000 inhabitants. The death toll is unknown but was traditionally thought to have been small, as only six verified deaths were recorded. This reasoning has recently been challenged on the grounds that the deaths of poor and middle-class people were not recorded; moreover, the heat of the fire may have cremated many victims, leaving no recognisable remains. A melted piece of pottery on display at the Museum of London found by archaeologists in Pudding Lane, where the fire started, shows that the temperature reached . The Great Fire started at the bakery (or baker's house) of Thomas Farriner