The great Chicago fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a fire in the city of Chicago, USA, that lasted from October 8 to 10, 1871. The fire killed about 300 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. The reconstruction of the fire-damaged areas began quickly and contributed to the city’s extremely rapid economic growth.
Historical data
The year 1871 was marked by unusually dry weather in Chicago, and the city’s numerous wooden structures made it vulnerable to natural disasters such as fires. The Great Chicago Fire broke out on the night of October 8 in the southwestern part of the city, near the home of Irish immigrants Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. According to one version, the fire was started when the O’Learys’ cow knocked over a lighted kerosene lamp. The O’Learys denied this version, and the real cause of the fire was never established. After the fire broke out around the O’Leary estate, it quickly got out of control and spread to wooden houses to the north and east and spread toward the city center.
After two days of firefighting, it was only on October 10 that the flames were extinguished when firefighting equipment was brought to the city and rain began to fall, which helped firefighters. The fire killed about 300 people and left another 100,000 homeless. More than 17,000 different buildings were destroyed, with total damage estimated at $200 million.
To stop the wave of lawlessness and crime that swept the city after the fire, martial law was introduced on October 11 and lasted for several weeks. A month after the fire, the city elected a new mayor, Joseph Medill, who promised to introduce new fire safety measures and begin reconstruction of the city.
Despite the extensive damage, much of Chicago’s physical infrastructure, including transportation systems, remained intact. The city’s reconstruction began quickly and vigorously, which stimulated its economic development and led to population growth. Thanks to new, efficient planning, Chicago’s landscape changed, and the world’s first skyscrapers appeared. Before the fire, the population of Chicago was approximately 324 thousand people, and over the next nine years it grew to half a million. Only twenty years later, Chicago became a major economic and transportation center with a population of over 1 million people.
Nowadays, the former O’Leary estate is the site of the Chicago Fire Training School. Although Catherine O’Leary died in 1895, in 1997 the city council passed a symbolic resolution that cleared O’Leary and her cow of any blame for the fire.
Yellowstone fire of 1988
The Yellowstone Fire of 1988 is the largest fire in the history of the US Yellowstone National Park. Starting as a series of small individual fires, the fire quickly got out of control due to high winds and drought and turned into one large fire that burned for several months. The fire virtually destroyed the park’s two main visitor routes, and on September 8, 1988, for the first time in history, the entire park was closed to all visitors who were not rescue workers. Only the arrival of cool and wet weather in late fall allowed the fire to be extinguished. In total, 793,880 acres (3,213 km2), or 36% of the park’s area, were affected by the wildfires.
Thousands of firefighters fought the fire, supported by dozens of helicopters and airplanes that supplied water and fire retardant. At its peak, more than 9,000 firefighters were dispatched to the park. The fire, which raged through the ecosystem of the entire Greater Yellowstone and other areas in the western United States, put all levels of the National Park Service and other land management agencies in an emergency situation. Soon, more than 4,000 U.S. Army personnel were involved in firefighting. The firefighting efforts cost $120 million at the time. None of the firefighters were killed during the firefighting in Yellowstone, but two people died from the effects of the fire outside the park.