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10 Most Devastating Fires in the United States of America

While many fires throughout the history of the US have been started by careless human actions, they have in recent years become more ferocious because of the climate crisis. As the planet warms and exacerbates drought conditions, larger swaths of the country have become more susceptible to rampant blazes.

Here are the 10 most devastating fires in the United States of America;

1. The Peshtigo Fire

The Peshtigo Fire, showing people seeking refuge in the Peshtigo River – Wikipedia

The Peshtigo fire was a large forest fire that occurred on October 8, 1871, in northeastern Wisconsin, United States. It included much of the southern half of the Door Peninsula and adjacent parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Small fires coupled with unusually dry weather contributed to the start of the Peshtigo Fire. The fire was the deadliest wildfire in recorded history, burning about 1.2 million acres and with the number of deaths estimated between 1,500 and 2,500.

This fire occurred on the same day as the more famous Great Chicago Fire but receive little publicity despite it killing more people. This is because Peshtigo was a backwards lumber town and Chicago was the big city at this time.

2. The Great Fires of 1947

The Great Fires of 1947 – Maine Public

The Great Fires of 1947 were a series of forest fires in the State of Maine in the United States. On Friday, October 17, 1947, at 4 p.m., the fire department received a report that of smoke rising from a cranberry bog, from this quiet beginning arose an inferno that burned nearly half of the eastern side of Mount Desert Island.

Collectively the fires destroyed a total area of 17,188 acres (6,956 ha) of wooded land on Mount Desert Island, 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) statewide and killed a total of 16 people.

The fire was declared under control on October 27^th and pronounced completely out until 4 p.m. on November 14, nearly one month after it began. This disaster is an important part of the local history of the York County and Mount Desert Island areas.

3. The Great Michigan Fire

The Great Michigan Fire – 99.1 WFMK

The Great Michigan Fire was a series of simultaneous forest fires in the state of Michigan in the United States that first appeared on October 8th 1871. It is believed that they were caused by the same winds that fanned the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire and the Port Huron Fire.

More than 3,900 square miles (2,500,000 acres; 1,000,000 ha) were burned in Michigan, including the Menominee County area. The exact number of deaths is unknown, however it is estimated to be fewer than 500 based on families reporting their members missing.

By the evening of Tuesday, October 10, all the fires across the Midwest begin to end. Rain moved into the area and damped down the fires.

4. Carlton Complex Fire

Carlton Complex Fire – Wikipedia

The Carlton Complex Fire was a massive wildfire in north central Washington that began on July 14, 2014. The fire was started by four separate lightning that struck the Methow Valley and caused small fires that merged into one by July 18.

It burned 256,108 acres (1,036.4 km2), destroyed 353 homes in and around the towns of Pateros and Brewster, as well as rural Okanogan County and caused an estimated $98 million in damages. The Carlton Complex remains the largest single wildfire in Washington state history.

Rain slowed the fire on July 24, allowing crews to reach 60% containment by July 26. On August 24, over a month after the fires began, the Carlton Complex was declared 100% contained.

5. Yarnell Hill Fire

Yarnell Hill Fire with firefighters – Wikipedia

The Yarnell Hill Fire was a wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona that started on June 28, 2013. It was ignited by dry lightning on Bureau of Land Management lands near Yarnell, Arizona. A long-term drought affecting the area contributed to the fire’s rapid spread and erratic behavior.

On June 30, the fire overran and killed 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. The Yarnell Hill Fire was one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires since the 1991 Oakland Hills fire, which killed 25 people, and the deadliest wildland fire for U.S. firefighters since the 1933 Griffith Park fire, which killed 29 “impromptu” civilian firefighters drafted on short notice to help battle that Los Angeles area fire.

The fire was declared 100% contained on July 10.

6. The Great Fire of 1910

Aftermath of the 1910 Fires – Wikipedia

The Great Fire of 1910, commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil’s Broom fire, occurred in the Inland Northwest region of the United States in the summer of 1910. This was after strong winds caused numerous smaller fires to combine into a firestorm of unprecedented size.

Collectively the fire burned three million acres (4,700 sq mi; 12,100 km2) in North Idaho and Western Montana and killed 87 people, 78 being firefighters. It is believed to be the largest, although not the deadliest, forest fire in U.S. history.

The fire burned over two days on the weekend of August 20–21 and was finally extinguished when another cold front swept in, bringing steady rain and some early snowfall. The fire is often considered a significant impetus in the development of early wildfire prevention and suppression strategies.

7. The 1881 Thumb Fire, Michigan

The 1881Thumb Fire- Thumbwind

Also known as the Great Thumb Fire, the Great Forest Fire of 1881 or the Huron Fire took place on September 5, 1881, in the Thumb area of Michigan in the United States. The fire was the consequence of drought, hurricane-force winds, heat, the after-effects of the Port Huron Fire of 1871, and the ecological damage wrought by the era’s logging techniques.

It burned over a million acres (4,000 km²) in less than a day, killed 282 people in Sanilac, Lapeer, Tuscola and Huron counties and caused estimated damage to $2,347,000.

The fire sent enough soot and ash up into the atmosphere that sunlight was partially obscured at many locations on the East Coast of the United States. In New England cities, the sky appeared yellow and projected a strange luminosity onto buildings and vegetation. September 6, 1881, became known as Yellow Tuesday or Yellow Day because of this.

8. The 1884 Great Hinckley Fire

Ruins of downtown Hinckley after the 1894 fire – Wikipedia

The Great Hinckley Fire was a conflagration in the pine forests of the U.S. state of Minnesota in September 1894. Several small fires started in the pine forests of Pine County, Minnesota after a two-month summer drought, combined with very high temperatures.

The fires’ spread apparently was due to the then-common method of lumber harvesting, wherein trees were stripped of their branches in place; these branches littered the ground with flammable debris.

It burned an area of at least 200,000 acres (810 km2; 310 sq mi) including the town of Hinckley and the smaller nearby settlements of Mission Creek, Brook Park, Sandstone, Miller, Partridge and Pokegama. The official death count was 418 but this figure has been challenged as bodies from the fire continued to be found years later.

9. The Great Chicago Fire

Chicago in Flames by Currier & Ives,1871 – Wikipedia

The Great Chicago Fire burned in the city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871.It began in a neighborhood southwest of the city center and city officials never determined the cause of the blaze.

The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km2) of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless.

Late into the evening of October 9, it started to rain, this aided in stopping the fire that had already started to burn itself out.

10. The 1988 Yellowstone Fires

Fire near Old Faithful Complex, Yellowstone – Wikipedia

The Yellowstone fires of 1988 collectively formed the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It started out as smaller individual fires, the flames quickly spread out of control due to drought conditions and increasing winds, combining into one large conflagration. This began on 14^th June 1988.

A total of 793,880 acres (3,213 km2), or 36 percent of the park, was affected by the wildfires and only two fire-related deaths outside the park.

The blaze burned for several months, only the arrival of cool and moist weather in the late autumn brought the fires to an end on 18^th November 1988.