The big blowup
Set an airplane course from Clark Fork, Idaho, south 25 degrees east, approximately along the axis of the Bitterroot Range, and fly on this course 160 miles to Moose Creek on the Selway River.
On 70 percent of this flight you would be flying over the 1910 burn, with the burned area extending an average of 25 miles on either side of the line. Even then you would have seen only three-quarters of the burned area. You would have to go through the South Fork and the North Fork of the Flathead, and westerly across the Kootenai and Kaniksu forests to see the rest of the fire-swept area.
Three million acres of forest burned, most of it in two terrifying days, Aug. 20 and 21, 1910.
In 1910, the territory now in the Coeur d’Alene and St. Joe Forests was under the direction of Supervisor W.G. Weigle, with headquarters at Wallace. Owing to proximity to settlements and the large number of fire crews out at the time of the big blowup, the Coeur d’Alene (National Forest) suffered more in loss of life and property than any other forest.
Through May, June and the first half of July, numerous fires were started from lightning, campers and two railroads that traversed the forest. Most of these were put under control. Outside the forest, the Pine Creek Fire to the west burned all through the latter part of July and was a continued threat.
On July 23, a severe electric storm passed over and set numerous fires. These were manned as rapidly as possible, but with new fires starting daily and high winds that threw brands a great distance, conditions got steadily worse. On Aug. 13, even though the nearest fire was six miles from Wallace, numerous pieces of burning bark as large as a man’s hand fell in the streets, setting awnings on fire in three different cases. By this time there were 1,800 men fighting fire on the Coeur d’Alene besides two companies of soldiers.
With Pine Creek 10 or 12 miles west of the city afire all through the latter part of July and the first of August, and with numerous fires to the south, just across the St. Joe divide, the people of Wallace were badly worried. On Aug. 14, a newspaper reporter stated that all insurance men had all their clerks busy writing fire insurance policies but were not refusing any business.
On Aug. 20, a high wind arose about noon. All existing fires flared up and new ones were started. Great thunderheads showed to the south and west as the fires rushed to uncontrollable proportions. It was obvious that a holocaust was impending.
Since the greatest danger to Wallace was from fire coming down Placer Creek, Supervisor Weigle took a saddlehorse and started up the creek to reconnoiter. He was caught in the rush of the fire and had to abandon the horse and take refuge in a mine tunnel. He did not succeed in getting back to Wallace until 10:30 that night, with his eyebrows and clothes scorched from his close encounter with the flames.
With the adjacent hillsides all ablaze, the fire broke into town at 9:15 Saturday night. The whole eastern part of the city burned, and before the flames were under control by the Fire Department, approximately 100 buildings were burned, with an estimated loss of $1 million. Two lives were lost in the fire.
A relief train on the Northern Pacific started from Wallace about 10 p.m., loaded with women and children. They picked up many more refugees at Mullan and Saltese and arrived in Missoula Sunday morning.
All day Sunday new reports of terrible loss of life came in, as the scorched and burned survivors of various firefighting crews stumbled wearily into town with tales of terror and disaster.