US northwest wildfires force 65,000 to flee as hundreds of buildings burn in Spokane
France 24 →Firefighters made progress against several blazes Monday after wildfires driven by drought, extreme heat and strong winds tore through Washington state's second-largest city, destroying up to 1,100 structures and prompting what officials called the worst natural disaster in Spokane's history.
Surrounded By Forest Fires: Idaho Towns May Burn
SPOKANE, Aug. 13.—The town of Taft, Idaho, is today entirely surrounded by forest fires, and it is feared will be destroyed. The town has a population of 200. Wallace, Murray and Mullap, Idaho, are threatened, and if a change in direction or an in
Original Newspaper Page
Enlarge → What Happened Next
Great Fire of 1910
Several towns were completely destroyed by the fire. In Idaho, one-third of the town of Wallace was burned to the ground, with an estimated $1 million in damage (equivalent to $31,490,000 in 2023). Another train with 1,000 people from Avery took refuge in a tunnel after racing across a burning trestle.
Wikipedia →Pinchot–Ballinger controversy
The Pinchot–Ballinger controversy, also known as the 'Ballinger Affair', was a dispute between United States federal government officials regarding whether or not the federal government should allow private corporations to control water rights, or instead cut them off so that the wilderness would be
Wikipedia →Ed Pulaski
A combination hand tool with a mattock for digging or grubbing on one side and an axe for chopping on the other, it is often called a 'Pulaski tool'. It was developed by Ed Pulaski — the ranger who led 45 men to safety during the Great Fire of 1910 — and became the standard wildfire suppression tool used across the United States.
Wikipedia →