|
Posted on 10/26/2006 8:38:25 PM PDT by Ptarmigan
On October 8, 1871, as Chicago was burning in the Great Chicago Fire. Another even more devastating fire ravaged northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Peshtigo was center of the timber industry. Fires were set for clearing in the forest. However things go bad. The fires started to grow uncontrollable. Then a cold front comes by on October 8th and brings strong winds. These winds fan the flames even further. These small flames exploded in massive wildfires. These strong winds also help fan the flames in Chicago. The fire managed to spread by jumping into Michigan. The fire burned down Holland, Michigan and Manistee, Michigan. By the time the firestorm ended, 1,875 square miles, which is the size of two Rhode Islands was burned. The death toll is in the neighbor of 1,200 to 2,500, which makes it the worst fire in American history. The World Trade Center attack claimed 2,749 lives, however that was mostly from the collapse. Since the fire happened, some believe it was caused by fragments of Comet Biela impact, since the Great Chicago Fire and Great Peshtigo Fire happened on the same day. Sadly, this inferno is largely forgotten due to the Great Chicago Fire.
The Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871 Wikipedia-The Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871
Holland is a long way from the UP so that gives an indication of how far apart the fires were.
the 1871 fires, didn't check the links, let me know if any are not working.
http://www.peshtigofire.info/bales1.htm
http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/fires.html
http://www.huroncitymuseums.org/michiganhistory.htm
http://www.michmarkers.com/startup.asp?startpage=L1628.htm
http://www.saugatuckdouglas.com/history.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct08.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mimanist/ManHist14.html
Rain of Iron and IceOn November 27,1919, a meteorite fell into Lake Michigan near the Michigan shore. "Residents of Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, South Bend, Grand Haven, and other Western Michigan cities fled from their homes in panic, fearing an earthquake. Houses were shaken, the country was illuminated as by a bright sun's rays, so all-enveloping it was impossible to tell from which direction the flare came, the earth trembled for half a moment and then came a deep prolonged rumbling as of a terrific explosion." (p 159)
by John S. Lewis
Some years ago there was some speculation that these fires, and possibly the Chicago fire, WERE caused by a meteor shower.
Doesn't this have something to do at some point with WELS? I used to hear WELS folk talk about this a lot. I forget what they said!
The Comet and the Chicago Fire:
http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/arch06/060206chicagofire.htm
Is there plausible evidence that a comet may have caused the Chicago fire and its regional counterparts? In 1985, Mel Waskin, who had earlier discovered Donnelly’s work, published a book, Mrs. O’Leary’s Comet, suggesting that a comet did indeed spark the October 8th fires. More recently, Robert Wood, a physicist and aeronautical engineer formerly with Douglas Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas, gained attention from the Discovery Channel and other media for proposing the same idea.
The proponents of the cometary explanation cite many fascinating details confirmed by eye witness reports: the descent of fire from the heavens, a great “tornado” of fire rushing across the landscape and tearing buildings from their foundations, descending balls of fire, a rain of red dust, great explosions of wind accompanied by blasts of thunder, buildings exploding into flame where no fire was burning, and a good deal more. Some of the parallels with the later Tunguska event are impossible to miss.
I read a book about this a few years ago. Very interesting the way different people survived according to some critical choices they made....for example, being willing to go into the water, and risk the cold, etc, instead of staying on the land.
One thing to note is many people died in the fire, which makes it very catastrophic.
Literally thousands died in the fires which began that night.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
