Great Michigan Fire Great Michigan Fire The Great Michigan Fire was a series of simultaneous forest fires in the state of Michigan in the United States in 1871. They were possibly caused (or at least reinforced) by the same winds that fanned the Great Chicago Fire; some believe lightning or even meteor showers may have started the fires. Several cities, towns and villages, including Alpena, Holland, Manistee, and Port Huron, suffered serious damage or were lost. The concurrent Great Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin also destroyed several towns in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1881, much more than half of "the Thumb" region
Port Huron Fire of 1871 erupted in Illinois, and the Peshtigo Fire burned a large tract in Wisconsin, including the city of Peshtigo. Windsor, Ontario met a similar fate four days later. Much of the area burned by the Port Huron Fire was swept by another deadly conflagration 10 years later, under similar conditions. Port Huron Fire of 1871 The Port Huron Fire of Sunday October 8, 1871 (one of a series of fires known collectively as the Great Fire of 1871 or the Great Michigan Fire) burned a number of cities including White Rock and Port Huron, and much of the countryside in the