Disasters like Johnstown Flood and the Chicago Fire (which happened the same night) are disasters of legend, but the Peshtigo Fire is mostly unknown outside of Wisconsin. Which is shocking given it is the deadliest fire in U.S. history. Approximately 2,500 people lost their lives around Peshtigo.
h/t: Ampersand at Lem's Place
There were lots of fires that day, but the Peshtigo Fire was the worse
The narration is annoying, but this video does have some good information
White Pine logging in Michigan
Allied Forces studied the conditions that led to the Peshtigo Fire and the resulting fire storm to recreate them in WWII fire bombing campaigns in Germany and Japan.
One of the more interesting theory's is that a Tunguska type meteor broke up and started some or all of these fires.
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