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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: FIRE (08/04/22)
All of them, by family, or one by one, were rushing down the street. Mothers grabbed their children by the hand or carried them in their arms. Men who had been fighting the fire gave up and started running toward the river to save their own lives. Some were running toward the river and some away. On the bridge, groaning under the weight, many went in opposite directions, creating mass chaos. People and horses and wagons jammed the bridge. The violent wind was knocking some to the ground. They struggled back to their feet and kept going.

An eyewitness described the fire as a menacing crimson reflection on the western sky rapidly increasing in size and intensity. Dense smoke, flames, and ash were everywhere. The wall of flame reached a mile high and five miles wide with winds up to 100 miles an hour. The fire was so intense that it jumped the Peshtigo River and burned both sides of the town.

They could hear buildings cracking and falling as they hurried along. The flames ate up and dissolved their homes, churches, and stores. They could smell the burning flesh of humans and animals and hear the cries of those trapped in buildings near collapse.

The heat was so intense that it seemed the air was on fire. The fire burned into the ground, devouring tree roots and leaving holes where the roots had been. Hogsheads of nails melted, and iron tracks of the railroad were twisted and curved.

The crowds continued their rapid movement toward the river, assuming they would be safe there.

One woman strained toward the river with a half-open mouth and tense eyelids, her eyes intense on the river. She was holding what seemed to be an infant in some linens pressed to her breast and leading a second child by the hand. When she opened the wraps to look at her child, it was not there. In her haste, she had lost her grasp on the child. A look of horror, stupor, and desolation crossed her face as she cried out, “Ah! my child.!”

Those who reached the river waded in to their neck. They discovered that the cold of the October water was almost as brutal as the heat of the fire. The river was not as safe as they had hoped. Cinders and sparks were flying through the air. People’s hair caught on fire.

Blankets and clothing had been thrown into the water to be used to cover their heads. The intense heat soon dried the cloth, so it caught fire. Only by splashing water on the blankets and their heads were they able to escape burning. Most remained in the water for several hours, enduring the heat of the flames and the extreme cold of the water.

After the fire stopped, there was the long, heartbreaking process of identifying and burying the dead. In the months and years following, the survivors rebuilt the towns.

The Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire destroyed this logging town of 1,700 in NE Wisconsin near Green Bay on the night of October 8, 1871. This was the same night as the famous Chicago fire, which had 300 victims; the Peshtigo fire had an estimated 1,500 to 2,500 fatalities. Within the town of Peshtigo, the estimated death total was between 500 and 800; at Sugar Bush, there were 241 dead. In addition, the fire injured 1,500 and left about 3,000 homeless. The fire consumed an estimated area between ten miles wide and 40 miles long. The conflagration destroyed the towns of Peshtigo and Brussels and significantly damaged other communities.

The entire area had experienced an unprecedented drought in the weeks before the fire. The dry spell, combined with carelessness and the wind, is believed to have caused the fire.

After the news of this fire got out, help poured in from all over the country. They rebuilt. Peshtigo is now a thriving town of 3,500 people.

Out of the wake-up call of this tragedy came some benefits. Those organizations and individuals responsible have improved land use practices and implemented better methods of mitigating wildfire potential. Weather support has become a regular part of fire control in both planned burns and wildfires. The National Weather Service now has trained meteorologists to provide remote and onsite support to firefighters battling wildfires. General awareness of the danger of wildfires has increased and helps to prevent tragedies.



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Member Comments
Member
Date
Marlene MCPherson
08/12/22
What a fire and what a destruction. I would have liked to see your take on this story. What you have done is just to retell it.
Avigail David
08/12/22
"On the night of Oct. 8-9, 1871, this fire destroyed in two hours a swath of forest 10 miles wide and 40 miles long and obliterated the towns of Peshtigo and Brussels, killing about 1,500 people."~~ Wisconsin Historical Society.

Thank you for your creative and skilled writing style. Written in your perspective on the historical devastation of such deadly fire.



Arlene Baker
08/27/22
In the past, I have researched this event. It is ironic - and true to this day - that news is selected or discarded depending on who tells it. Chicago was a large city. This was a small town - of no consequence to most - and yet the tragedy was greater. Good to bring this to readers' attention.

My suggestions are: Personalize the story and replace passive verbs with active. Rather than inform the reader of the horrific events of that night, put the reader IN the crisis. Select one person ... the woman who lost her child would be a great example ... and write from her perspective. The panic. The fear. Put the reader in the river with the victims. Activate your verbs. if you can get the reader IN your story, they will never forget it!

Again, thanks for sharing! You honored the persons involved. Blessings for that!