Peshtigo << PEHSH tih `GOH` >> forest fire was one of the worst disasters in Wisconsin history. It began near the northeastern Wisconsin town of Peshtigo on Oct. 8, 1871. Flames spread through other areas of Wisconsin and into Michigan, killing about 1,200 people. The Peshtigo forest fire took place on the same night as the more famous Chicago Fire.
The fire.
Little rain fell in northeastern Wisconsin during the summer and fall of 1871. Small fires broke out throughout the region, and in many other places around the United States. Smoke from distant fires filled the air near Peshtigo in early October.
During the night of October 8, Peshtigo residents awoke to the roaring of a great fire. Observers described a sky deep red with flames. As strong winds blew, fire engulfed Peshtigo’s wooden buildings, killing many people trapped inside. Hundreds of people sought protection from the fire in the waters of the Peshtigo River. However, many who rushed to the river were struck by burning timbers. Others were trampled by stampeding cattle and horses.
Fire raged north into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and east to the waters of Green Bay. Strong winds spread additional fires over much of Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula, on the eastern side of the bay. By the morning of October 9, the worst of the fires was over, and rain began to fall.
In Peshtigo, the fire killed about 800 people—more than a third of the town’s population. In all, the fires throughout the region killed at least 1,200 people and destroyed at least $5 million in property. All the fires came to be known collectively as the Peshtigo fire.
Aftermath.
Response to the disaster was slow. Peshtigo had only one telegraph line, and it was destroyed by the fire. The famous Chicago Fire had also occurred on the night of October 8, and it captured the nation’s attention. Officials in Madison, Wisconsin’s capital, did not even learn of the Peshtigo fire until October 10. For weeks, few relief workers and supplies arrived in northeastern Wisconsin.
Today, the Peshtigo Fire Museum contains exhibits about the fire and life in the village in the 1870’s. It adjoins the Peshtigo Fire Cemetery, which has the graves of hundreds of fire victims.
