One hundred fifty years ago, on Oct. 8, 1871, a fire engulfed the small town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, killing some 800 people in an hour. The words that begin that Biblical passage are haunting, given the fate so many met that terrible night. bit.ly/3mxQaG4
Meteorologists explain that a prolonged drought, fierce winds, and high temperatures created fuel for flames.
Strong, warm southwesterly winds of up to 50 mph fanned the fire, causing everything in its path to ignite.
Strong, warm southwesterly winds of up to 50 mph fanned the fire, causing everything in its path to ignite.
In about one hour, the fire incinerated anything and everything in its track, including numerous settlements and villages, ravaging 2,400 square miles -- an area roughly the size of Delaware.
When the smoke cleared, little was left intact. It was almost as if a town had never even existed there. Some broken china and a tabernacle survived the inferno.
So did a Bible. The Good Book was charred by the flames and petrified by the intense heat, but found intact -- and opened to Psalms 106 and 107.
"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" the beginning of Psalm 106 and 107 reads, a haunting declaration that may seem to contradict the tragedy that unfolded that fateful night. bit.ly/3mxQaG4
The story of Peshtigo is a lesser-known one, however, as it occurred the same night of the Great Chicago Fire.
"The Chicago Fire overshadowed us," Sally Kahl, the Peshtigo Fire Museum curator, said, "but when you lose 800 people in an hour ... that's a lot of life gone."
"The Chicago Fire overshadowed us," Sally Kahl, the Peshtigo Fire Museum curator, said, "but when you lose 800 people in an hour ... that's a lot of life gone."
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