Ailynn Collins - Can You Survive the 1910 Big Burn?: An Interactive History Adventure

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Its the middle of summer in 1910. You live in the Pacific Northwest, and rain has been scarce. July was extremely hot and windy. Crops and forest lands have been drying up. People are saying its the worst drought theyve ever seen.

Even worse, fires have sprung up all over. You hear theyre headed your way. Are the firefighters prepared to take on the roaring fires? And if the fire hits your town, are you prepared to survive?

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

In the early 1900s, the United States was a growing nation. Towns were springing up across the northwestern United States. With them came railroads, new homes, and new businesses. All of this new building required wood. Forests across the Pacific Northwest were being cut down to meet the towns growing demands.

In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States. He was passionate about nature and wanted to save the forests. Luckily, one of his advisers, Gifford Pinchot, loved the forests as much as Roosevelt. Together, they traveled the country, choosing the forests that would never be cut down. These lands became known as the National Forests. You can still visit them today.

The U.S. Forest Service began at this same time. Pinchot was the Forest Services first chief. The service and trained forest rangers, who took care of the forests and acted as firefighters.

In 1910, there were fewer than 500 rangers across the nation. That summer, the Forest Service was put to the test in what became known as the Big Burn, the Big Blowup, or the Devils Broom fire.

The Pacific Northwest region, including Idaho, Montana, Washington, and parts of British Columbia, has had an incredibly dry summer. Throughout July, small fires have been started by lightning strikes or sparks hurled from passing trains. Some fires were even started by firefighters on purpose. They used small, controlled burns to try to stop larger fires.

But then, on Saturday, August 20, 1910, a strong, hurricane-force wind blows over the mountains. The winds push many smaller fires together. They quickly grow into one of the largest and most destructive fires the region has ever seen. Nobody could have imagined a fire this size. How will you respond to the deadly blaze?

Your name is Ed Pulaski. You live in Wallace, Idaho, with your wife, Emma, and daughter, Elsie. You left your family in Ohio when you were 15 years old. Now you are 40 years old and an experienced firefighter, , blacksmith, and forester.

You started working for the U.S. Forest Service in 1908. Your boss is named Greeley. Hes in charge of a large area covering Montana, Idaho, and parts of North Dakota.

As an experienced ranger, you know the forests and mountains around here better than anyone. You also know when the dry air smells like smoke, things are going to be bad.

Youre in charge of several rangers. Your unit has been successful at putting out some small fires around Wallace this summer.

On July 26, 1910, you wake up to a deafening storm. The thunder is loud, and the lightning streaks fiercely across the sky. But theres no rain. You have a bad feeling about this. In your experience, you know these electrical storms are likely to start forest fires.

To confirm your worst feelings, you receive a message from Greeley. It says that nearly 1,000 fires have started burning from Missoula, Montana, to Avery, Idaho.

Some of those fires are heading toward you. Are you going to fight the blaze? Or will you get your family to safety first?

While at the General Store, you smell smoke in the air. You look outside and see that the sky is gray. You have a bad feeling about whats coming. You know the fires must be spreading fast. An uncomfortable thought forms in your head.

This fire is too big for us. We dont have enough men to fight it, you tell the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper is surprised. Ive never seen you worry about a fire before, Ed, he says. I think you could use a vacation.

Maybe so, you smile. Still, its best to get out of town while we can.

As you head home, you tell a few more people they should leave town. But nobody is as worried as you are.

We should catch the train to Missoula, you tell Emma and Elsie as soon as you get home. Pack whatever you can carry.

As you leave home, your neighbors chuckle. They think youre overreacting. But you dont care. Your gut is telling you that the worst is coming.

Later, you arrive in Missoula with your family safe beside you. Thats all you care about. Then you remember reading a story in the newspaper. Several months ago Gifford Pinchot was fired by President Taft. As he left, he gave a stirring speech

We must win the war against fire, he said. Not just to protect the forests, but also the forest service. Congress and the , and failure.

You remember being inspired by Pinchots speech. Now you feel guilty for leaving your post. You begin to doubt your choices.

You know you cant leave your men to fight the fires without you. No one else knows the area as well as you.

You remember when Gifford Pinchot was fired. President Taft doesnt believe the Forest Service is necessary. Congress and the timber industry want to end the program. They want to keep cutting down trees to build towns and railroads. But you know that without the rangers, there would be no defense against the fires.

Theres nothing you can do about politics and the government. But you can focus on the job in front of you. So you spend the next few days training your men. You show them how to chop down dead trees and clear the area around the town. You teach them how to light backfires that will hopefully stop the main fire from advancing.

You worry that you dont have enough men to fight a bigger fire. But your boss, Greeley, thinks your troop can handle whats coming.

A few days later, the air smells smokier than ever.

A big fire is coming, you tell Emma.

Are you worried, Ed? she asks.

You sigh and nod. Do you know that rock pile by the edge of the ?

I do! Elsie lights up. You took her there last summer to teach her to swim.

If Im away and the smoke gets thicker, I want you two to get to the rock pile, you tell them. Sit in the water, and cover your heads with wet blankets. Wait for me there, and Ill come find you. You hope theyll take your instructions seriously.