Report from Front Lines: Visit to Sierra Club Office

me | 6/25/2002 | me

[moondoggie]

BTW...thanks for the link, but I'm way ahead of you. I got all my ammo last night and am emailing to everybody on my addy list.

I'm determined to see this through until the environmental wackos are exposed for the frauds...not to mention lesbos.... that they are. LOL

[PeterPrinciple]

HINCKLEY MINNESOTA FIRE MUSEUM

Folks, I just got back from a trip to the boundry waters in MN and we stopped the Fire Museum in Hinckley. It is on I35 north of Minneapolis. We wouldn't normally have stopped but had distant relation to visit and went to the museum while there.

If you get a chance, go to this museum. This was a 1894 firestorm that if I remember correctly burned 30 square miles in 4 hours. Almost 400 people died in the fire. AMAZING LITTLE MUSEUM! Be sure to stop in and visit because you normally would go right on by it.

Maybe someone from MN can post some more accurate history on this.

I couldn't find any info on this on the web, maybe others can.

[PeterPrinciple]

Took another look and here is the website:

http://www.hinckleyfire.com/

[Bahbah]

Thanks for the ping and excellent work by the very fine husband of RooRooBird. Woo Hoo.

[ravingnutter]

Logging and roads cause fires"...The Sierra Club.

I loved the comment by one of them on the talking head show who said that "roads are not required to fight these fires, that is what they have smoke jumpers for"! DUH...how are the smoke jumpers going to escape after being dropped in to fight the fire? What boneheads!

[kayak]

From the President's remarks today in Arizona to those who have been evacuated from their homes ....

"Listen, we've got a lot of work to do to make sure the Forest Service has got wise forest policy -- (applause) -- to make sure to maintain the forests so that they're healthy and viable, and not become kindling-boxes."

That word *applause* doesn't do justice to the roar of approval his remark brought.

The entire text is here ......

Remarks by the President to Displaced Families

[PeterPrinciple]

Here is a story to make it personal:


The Hinckley Fire Museum found a story of the Great Fire typed on onionskin paper. No one knows who wrote it or who put it in the Museum's records. I include part of that story to dramatize living though a Great Fire.

---

Boston Corbet
Johnson, Byron. Abraham Lincoln and Boston Corbett We were sitting in the office with Chris when it suddenly got darker. I went out, saw the fire, and heard Corbet yell. He had come the four miles to the river carrying his shotgun, a rifle and handbag. He was a small man weighing about one hundred forty pounds. The others told him that Chris was going to try to save the team (of horses) if they saw that the river wasn't going to stop the fire. He couldn't be restrained, but raced away to warn Chris. When he reached the wagon we were ready to go. Wilson took the shotgun, Corbet threw on the handbag and handed the rifle to Chris, who sat on a nailed down seat close to the horse's rump. He climbed on and lay belly down on the pile of woolen goods I'd put on from the office, with his head close to Chris hands gripping the side boards. He wouldn't be thrown off.

We started with the fire less than sixty rods away, even though the road was good for about three miles and the horses on a dead run, the fire was gaining. Wilson said, "I ain't going to burn to death, I'll hang onto this gun and shoot myself." I though it a good idea and I save mine for that purpose. We came to a thick of tall pine, as the trees were falling in the road, we had to leave the team. The wagon was right in a small creek. As they freed the horses, I ran down stream looking for deeper water. Suddenly all light was blacked out as the tree crowns started blazing. There was no more daylight for us until the next morning.

I yelled, "Run straight ahead"! As I ran to join them, there were flaming pine tops crashing around us. When I passed Corbet a flaming top that crashed between us revealed his face and whole figure, he was upright and coming but didn't have a chance. The crash and road of the fire was heard at Moose Lake, thirty miles away. There were vapor explosions in rapid succession like sharp crashes of lightening. Being in good condition I soon passed Chris and Wilson. Getting out from under the crown blaze, we could see the trees outlined against the red sky, but nothing on the ground. Tripping over things we took some terrific falls. Being far enough ahead, I always felt around and found my gun after tripping. When a lace loosened on one of my heavy river driving shoes, I cut the other lace with my hunting knife, dropped the knife and my shell belt and kicked the shoes off. As I ran my socks flew off. Though I ran nearly three miles barefoot, my feet were okay because the fire brands didn't have time to burn me. I could run faster, but just couldn't leave Wilson and Chris. When I hand to run back the second time to get in contact, I slowed down so they could see me against the light of fires ahead.

About a mile from Sand Creek, we came out of the green woods into country hat was logged. The country was lit up for miles by burning brush piles. A high wind was carrying fire brands miles ahead, while the brush piles where burning without wind. Having good light we could crash through the hot spots.

We came to a tote road that ran southeast, which was broad-side to the oncoming fire. As I was stopped by a sharp snag that I hit my left knee on, Wilson bounded past me. When I started on, I saw the road that led to the only place on that part of the creek where we could have a chance to survive. I yelled and Wilson ran back. Chris, spent and lagging, saw us turn and followed. In about one half mile we came to the place perfectly fitted to our needs, a log landing on the creek bank, and water to cover us when we lay down.

It had been cleared as a place to stack logs. Throwing my gun on a sandbar, we ran back to hurry Chris along and when we got back we didn't have a minute to spare. There was a three foot grassy bank to protect us. As we got in the water, a bunch of confused deer raced past us right into the blast that roared over us in seconds. Wilson was in the middle with a wet coarse wool sock held over his mouth with his left hand. With his right hand he splashed water over us and the creek bank. I went under as the water sizzled with the rain of fire brands. The warmed the water and killed the fish in seconds. I breathed through my wet shirt, when I came up for air. Chris was having some trouble from breathing in smoke, but came through okay. I killed a rabbit that swam against me thinking we might eat it. I though my dog died because I hadn't seen him during the long run. When the danger was past, I found him by my side okay with his nose shoved in the wet creek bank. That fury of the fire was past in minutes and was roaring miles ahead. Then as suddenly as if a curtain had dropped there was no wind. The smoke parted for half a minute and we saw the red glow of setting sun on the sky.

The fire, after snuffing out about five hundred human lives and the lives of thousands of deer and other animals, had run it's course. As the air got heavy the smoke from ground fires settled. We lay on the warm sand covering our heads with our shirts, until about nine in the morning, when the smoke cleared so we could travel.


(from Peterson, Clark C., The Great Hinckley Fire, pp. 73-76.)

---

The manuscript quoted by Mr Peterson in The Great Hinckley Fire maintains that the Tom Corbett who dies in the story is none other than the man who killed John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln's assassin. Mr Peterson writes, "The fire death list mentions 'Corbett, Thos. -- Age 57: residence, Hinckley; burned in the woods north-east of Hinckley, near Kettle River'
Fifty-seven years old does not agree with the 1832 birth year contained in the report.
All the history books I could find indicate that Tom Corbett disappeared in the late 1880's. According to the report, Tom Corbett came to Hinckley anytime from 1888 to 1890.
Fire survivor Frank Haney wrote his account about many of the same men. His descriptions do not conflict with that of the unknown writer. Mr. Haney, however, does not make any reference to Tom Corbett's life before 1894.
Did the Man who shot John Wilkes Booth perish in the Great Hinckley Fire?
I'm not sure. At this time, there's not enough evidence to prove or disprove it."
Peterson, The Great Hinckley Fire p. 77.

[SGCOS]

...To ask them what they are doing to help put out the fires or assist in helping the refugees

I don't think the Sierra Club cares about the refugees. I truly don't.

I don't think the Sierra Club cares about the destruction.

[MeekOneGOP]

My pleasure. I hope everything is A-Ok in BahbahLand!

[PeterPrinciple]

Correction: The Hinckley fire destroyed 400 square miles in 4 hours.

[SGCOS]

The Hinckley fire destroyed 400 square miles in 4 hours.

That's a little over 250 million acres...In 4 hours...Yikes.

[SGCOS]

oops, got an extra 0 in there. should be 256,000 acres

[savedbygrace]

Just recently, someone posted here that there's a law protecting these types of orgs against lawsuits. Maybe someone has the details.

[RooRoobird14]

Well, it appears back then that it was the practice of loggers to set fire to the slash--pretty dumb thing to do, doubt if any sane logging company would advocate something like that anymore. 400 square miles burnt in 4 hours. Amazing.

Speaking of wildfires, I've heard that there was one wildfire somewhere in the U.S. that burnt over 3 million acres and something like 1.2 million acres were torched within 48 hours. Does anyone know something about this? A 3 million acre wildfire makes the Rodeo fire look like tea light votive in comparison--LOL.

[PeterPrinciple]

Yes, there were some tough lessons learned from that fire and a lot of change was implemented as a result........but unfortunately time has unlearned some of those lessons.

The enviros "learned" that logging caused it, the loggers learned to clean up and be concerned about the future.

[PeterPrinciple]

Actually, like most things in life there was not just one cause........... the fuel had to be there, it had to be a dry summer, and the weather conditions to cause the fire storm had to be just right.

As conservatives we need to remember that it is not just one thing that causes the results we see.

[RooRoobird14]

Thank you, SGCOS--I thought I had forgotten/screwed up my conversions----LOL:

1 acre = 43,560 s.f.

1 sq mile= 5280 x 5280 sf = 27, 883, 680 sf

Therefore, there are 640 acres per square mile

Therefore, the Hinckley fire burnt approx 256,000 acres.

To have that much burn in 4 hours is pretty scary.

[martin_fierro]

If they can't take the heat.... <|:)~

[RooRoobird14]

No question--the drought plus a couple of careless/malicious @ssh*les are the actual cause of the fire. But the fact that the fire has covered 350,000 acres in one week and is still ZERO PERCENT CONTAINED is attributable to improper forest management. The Forest Service and private logging companies have been trying to clean these tinder boxes up, but they're slowed down daily by activists filing lawsuits and injunctions.

[patricia]

The speech by President Bush was poignant. Not bad at all for a fella who can't deliver a good speech, and one lacking in GRAVITOS!!!
IMO, "W" was visibly shaken ...
The Cerro Grande fire a couple of years ago in NM ... was started as a 'control burn' by the Nat'l Park Service. ONE of the big factors in this fire getting out of control ... besides being an timber box due to enviro-waacks, high winds and 7% humidity ..... was the fact that ACCESS ROADS HAD BEEN NEGLECTED TO THE POINT OF NON-USE.
Though less than 100,000 acres burned ... almost 500 homes and 100 Los Alamos NL bldg's were destroyed. THERE WAS OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN PROPERTY DAMAGE.