Same Story, Different Chapter—The Hinckley Fire

The year is 1894. The month was September. The place was Hinckley, Minnesota. 

On September 1, 1894, two forest fires converged on the town of Hinckley, Minnesota, trapping more than two thousand people. The fire created its own weather, including hurricane-strength winds, bubbles of plasma-like glowing gas, and 200-foot-tall flames. As termperatures reached 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit, the firestorm knocked down buildings and carried flaming debris high into the sky. Two trains—one with every single car on fire—became the only means of escape. In all, more than four hundred people would die, leading to a revolution in forestry management and the birth of federal agencies that monitor and fight wildfires. (Under a Flaming Sky - The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894)

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper

• Watch Minnesota's Fiercest Fires.
• Read Under a Flaming Sky by Daniel James Brown.
• Visit the Hinckley Fire Museum.