🏛️ Historypublished 2w ago
The Deadliest US Wildfire Happened the Same Night as Chicago's
On October 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed four square miles and killed roughly 300 people, capturing world headlines. Yet on that exact night, a far deadlier firestorm erupted in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Spurred by drought and hurricane-force winds, the blaze consumed 1.2 million acres and killed an estimated 1,200 to 2,500 people. It remains the deadliest wildfire in American history, though news of the tragedy took days to escape the ashes.
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