On This Day
1910 – The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the “Big Blowup” or the “Big Burn”) occurs in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 million acres (12,000 km2).
The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup, the Big Burn, or the Devil’s Broom fire) was a wildfire in the western United States that burned three million acres (4,700 sq mi; 12,100 km2) in North Idaho and Western Montana, with extensions into Eastern Washington and Southeast British Columbia, in the summer of 1910.[1] The area burned included large parts of the Bitterroot, Cabinet, Clearwater, Coeur d’Alene, Flathead, Kaniksu, Kootenai, Lewis and Clark, Lolo, and St. Joe National Forests.[2]
The fire burned over two days on the weekend of August 20–21,[3][4] after strong winds caused numerous smaller fires to combine into a firestorm of unprecedented size. It killed 87 people,[5] mostly firefighters,[6][7] destroyed numerous manmade structures, including several entire towns, and more than three million acres of forest with an estimated billion dollars worth of timber was lost.[2] It is believed to be the largest, although not the deadliest, forest fire in U.S. history.[8] The extensive burned area was approximately the size of the state of Connecticut.[2]
In the aftermath of the fire, the U.S. Forest Service received considerable recognition for its firefighting efforts, including a doubling of its budget from Congress. The outcome was to highlight firefighters as public heroes while raising public awareness of national nature conservation. The fire is often considered a significant impetus in the development of early wildfire prevention and suppression strategies.[2]
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Born On This Day
1918 – Jacqueline Susann, American actress and author (d. 1974)
Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American writer and actress. Her first novel, Valley of the Dolls (1966), is one of the best-selling books in publishing history.[1] With her two subsequent works, The Love Machine (1969) and Once Is Not Enough (1973), Susann became the first author to have three consecutive #1 novels on The New York Times Best Seller List.[2]
FYI
Open Culture: Watch Some of the Most Powerful Bass Guitar Solos Ever: Geddy Lee, Flea, Bootsy Collins, John Deacon & More; Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour Sings Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and more ->
By MessyNessy 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLXV): China’s Abandoned Nuclear City; London’s DIY Coffin Club (and Tea Party); Behind the Scenes of Julia Child’s “The French Chef”; Horse Exercise at Home and more ->
Helen Hegener Alaska History Magazine: Alaska Becomes a U.S. Territory and more ->
The Passive Voice: Leisure reading in the U.S. is at an all-time low; Why We Don’t Read, Revisited and more ->
Recipes
By Kristin, Perfectly DeStressed: Celebration Chocolate Chip Cookies
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wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 24 November 24, 2024Picture of the day The Scroll of Eighty-Seven Immortals, drawn by an unknown painter, measuring 30cm high and 292cm wide, is a line-drawing Chinese figure painting. Drawn on a long silk scroll with lines, the painting depicts 87 taoist immortals, including three supreme gods with halo, ten divine generals, seven deities and 67 celestial maidens […]
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 23 November 23, 2024Picture of the day Rainbow yarn for knitting displayed in front of a needlework shop in Graz, Austria