The California Fire

On April 29, 1910, the largest forest fire in American history occurred. Some would come to know it as the Big Burn, or the Big Blowup. Later others called it the (the one that says it saved American landscape.) This travesty took more than 100 men. The impact it had on Americans was monumental. Timothy Egan’s The Big Burn, he writes about the many people who perished during this disaster. Stories of people who were engulfed by the flames at Bitterroot Mountain who had little chance of escaping their devastating fate. Even though this is still seen as a travesty, some look at it in a different way. Due to how large the fire was and how far it stretched, it made people aware of the importance to protect Americas forests and natural resources. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, reform was occurring. The United States population was on a rise which had an effect on economic growth. This caused expansion in the consumer market and made way for an enormous amount of advancement in technology. Due to all of this, the demand for natural resources vastly increased. Inventions such as cars and trains consumed massive amounts of fossil fuels. Wood was stripped away from forests to make comfort items such as chairs, tables and other items for the large number of families now setting in the United States from foreign countries. People did not seem to pay much attentions to the effects these changes were having on the land. However, President Theodor Roosevelt had

On March 6,2017, the Panhandle of Texas caught on fire. The wildfire had burned over 500,000 acres of land. Most of this land includes livestock and feed for livestock. Several people had died during this traumatic event, because they were trying to save their livestock and land Cortana (2017). The wildfires burning in Texas can be seen from space, they are that huge Cortana (2017).

In October 2003, San Diego experienced the Cedar Fire that claimed 273,246 acres, 2,820 structures, and 15 lives (CAL FIRE, 2015). It gained the moniker, “The Hundred Year Fire” because another fire of its magnitude was not expected for another 100 years (San Diego Fire Facts, 2016). This expectation was short lived because four years after this fire in October 2007, San Diego experienced the largest wildfire in history (San Diego Fire Facts, 2016). This fire gained the name, “Witch Fire” (CAL FIRE, 2015).

From the street there were people screaming and running it was mass chaos. At this time you could see the media and firefighters everywhere. I got the hell out of there went home hugged my wife. I realized God had spared me that day. A lot of my friends and coworkers died that day. I’m truly sorry, sometimes I feel guilty that I didn’t do my part to help but I was afraid for my life. A couple of my friends that made it from a bit higher up said it sounded like a bunch of explosions. I remember thinking after hearing from them and seeing the video footage what the heck happened? In my opinion it felt like a bomb (Jones).

One man saw the fire and tried to get someone to use the fire box to get the fire department to send a fire truck. Sadly he had no such luck in notifying them. Fire boxes were boxes located on the street corner for people to use to alert the closest fire department, because telephones were not commonly available at that time. The other man just insisted that a fire truck had probably already been called and was on its way. The fire was so destructive because there were many mistakes and dangerous

Later on to this day, that fire impacted all of the U.S. citizens to work in more safe areas. Now we have sprinklers if smoke is detected, fire escapes, along with emergency exits. Other conditions not related to emergencies are working in clean areas, breathable places, and a limited amount of working hours. All across the U.S. buildings have changed, also immigrants and citizens work the same with similar wages.

“The heat of the fire and the great masses of flaming gas created great whirlwinds which mowed down swaths of trees in advance of the flames” (Koch, 1978). Women and children gathered the belongings they could and piled into Trains in seek of safety from the fire while the men were told to report to battle. Multiple towns were incinerated by the morning of the next day. The two day long fire had burned a total of 3 million acres of Idaho and Montana and took the lives of 85 people along with countless animals unable to outrun the burning fire. The smoke from the fires reached New England and soot traveled to Greenland (Forest History Society,

Brush Fire by Linda Thomas, and The Santa Ana by Joan Didion, were both short essays written about the Santa Ana wildfires. Even though these essays share the same topic, the perspective and approach differ from one another. Brush Fire beautifies the scenery of wildfires in a calming tone. In contrast, The Santa Ana describes the wildfires in a more serious and intellectual tone, where it is known for destruction and tension. The two short essays create different messages while containing similarities. The different tones of the essays diverge from each other. The uses of rhetorical devices differs and intersects the writing of the two authors. Although both stories are taken in the same place, the authors describes their personal experiences differently.

The horrible fire in Peshtigo caused death and destruction for everyone. People lost many of their possessions to the fire. The article says "They knew their house would be destroyed. Now they just wanted to find the boys. They left with only one possession, a mattress stuffed with feathers," because of this they lost everything else but the mattress. It also states that "The fire raged for hours. It leveled Peshtigo and 16 other towns to the north." Many people also lost their lives. Though the Kramers were lucky, and "the joy of their reunion carried the family through the difficult months that followed." A lot of people weren't as lucky and either lost their family or

On September 26, 1970 due to power lines that were knocked down, and with the increase of winds near the Kitchen Creek area, the Laguna fire began. Only within twenty four hours the fire had already expanded towards El Cajon and Spring Valley, which is thirty miles away from the original spot where the fire began. According to the article titled, “ Laguna fire, September 26, 1970” published on the website WildFire Today stated that “The Laguna fire burned 175,425 acres, killed eight civilians, and destroyed 382 homes.” The Laguna Fire was said to be the second largest fire in Californian history. Within the same article a firefighter shares his experience to the news of The Laguna Fire he states, “The day the Laguna fire

On October 20, 1991 a large suburban conflagration swept through the hillsides of Oakland California and into the backyards of Berkley. The Oakland Hills Firestorm went down in history as one of the worst fires since the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Twenty-five people lost their lives that Sunday, one hundred and fifty others were injured, and a total of one thousand five hundred and twenty acres of land was scorched. The destruction included three thousand three hundred and fifty four single family dwellings and four hundred and thirty seven apartments. All and all, they estimated the total loss at 1.5 billion dollars.

After battling a number of wildfires that moved very fast through the wine country, at least 30 people have been killed and 100,000 acres of land destroyed. Firefighters are hoping that the winds will weaken so that the fire will stay and not keep moving. Daniel Berlant assistant director says that the winds have decreased from 50mph to single digits. In addition, it will take days, and maybe weeks, for some people to be able to move back into their homes, or find new ones. Sonoma County seems to be affected the most, with 9 deaths and about 240 people reported missing. However, since Tuesday afternoon 57 of those missing people have been found.

On August 12th, Los Angeles Times reported 16,500-acer wildfires grew overnight near Northern California’s wine county. The fire that started August 9th has continued to spread to nearby counties and officials fear gusty winds could continue to spread flames into dry woodlands. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protections, they have prompted residents near the Napa and Yolo county lines to flee their homes; at least 150 homes were evacuated.

In 1962, Centralia, Pennsylvania, found in the Appalachian valley with a population of approximately 1100 people. A town put on the map for its richness in anthracite coal that burns long and hot, though the mine had been closed for years but far from empty. Though the people of the town knew nothing of what lurked below and went about their everyday lives which included burning trash at the municipal dump like people did in that time. As the fire burned it creep into the ground and was lit ablaze by coal long left behind, striking the beginning of the end for the small, unsuspecting Pennsylvania town. The flared for about a month and when workers finally dug back the burned earth they found it had burned much deeper than they thought. For 16 years the state and federal government tried to put out the fire and spent 3.3 million dollars on the project with little or no success and

According to the Ron Dehart, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman, The Sierra Nevada fire has burned through 62,000 acres, approximately 97 square miles of territory in the last week. As of late Sunday, an unoccupied summer home, a trailer, and a shed have been reported to be wrecked in the fire. The speed of that the fire spread resembles what cold in a public school looks like. More than 2,700 firefighters worked through the night to resist the wildfire that blackened nearly 100 square miles of the northern Sierra Nevada Valley.