On October 8th 1871, the Peshtigo Fire swept through parts of Wisconsin and Michigan, destroying 1.5 million acres of land and taking 1200 to 2400 lives. The event started when steam locomotives produced sparks that set alight some brush and wood that was left in piles after clearing nearby forests for farming and logging. The rapidly changing direction of hot winds created a “tornado of fire” that traveled and destroyed multiple villages in the area. The responsibility to respond to this disaster fell on the Peshtigo Fire Company which had only a single horse-drawn steam pumper to protect the houses and factories nearby and was not equipped for a forest fire. The houses and the immediate surroundings were comprised with wood and other flammable material which made them vulnerable to fire. The main reason that the largest recorded forest fire in the history of North America occurred is the ineffective preventative and mitigation measures put in place against forest fires and fire storms.
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