Port Huron Fire of 1871
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The Port Huron Fire of October 8, 1871 (one of a series of fires known collectively as the Great Fire of 1871 or the
Great Michigan Fire The Great Michigan Fire was a series of simultaneous forest fires in the state of Michigan in the United States in 1871. They were possibly caused (or at least reinforced) by the same winds that fanned the Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire ...
) burned a number of cities including White Rock and
Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...
, and much of the countryside in the " Thumb" region of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
(a total of 1.2 million acres, or 4,850 km²). On the same day, other fires burned the cities of
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
and
Manistee, Michigan Manistee ( ') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in southwestern Manistee County, it is part of the northwestern Lower Peninsula. Manistee is the county seat of Manistee County, and its population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. Th ...
, as well as broad swaths of forest in various areas of the state; the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...
and the Peshtigo Fire also occurred on the same day. At least 50 people died as a result of the Port Huron Fire, and at least 200 from all the fires in the state.


Origins

The origins of the fires are unknown, but the damage was worsened by a number of factors. Uninterrupted drought had plagued the Midwest into early October and winds were strong. When the wind increased and shifted direction, fire fighters were unable to control the flames any longer. Vast tracts of forest burned for a week in parts of Michigan and Wisconsin. Within hours, several Midwestern cities and towns were reduced to charcoal and ash.


Contemporary fires

That same night, the
Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...
erupted in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
, and the Peshtigo Fire burned a large tract in
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, including the city of Peshtigo.
Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
met a similar fate four days later. Much of the area burned by the Port Huron Fire of 1871 was swept by another deadly conflagration ten years later, under similar conditions.


See also

* List of Michigan wildfires


References


External links


"Midwest Fire of 1871"
''American Memory'', Library of Congress

''New York Times'', 13 October 1871 {{Fire Wildfires in Michigan 1871 fires in the United States 1871 in Michigan Fires in Michigan Port Huron, Michigan Natural disasters in Michigan Urban fires in the United States 1871 natural disasters 1870s in Michigan 19th-century wildfires