Wander the West

The Big Burn of 1910

	1910 Fire

2006

This Historical Marker on Interstate 90, just West of the Montana border in Idaho (only accessible from West bound lanes), marks the location of the great fire of 1910. The fire burned over 3 million acres and is the largest fire ever in North America, and possibly the largest ever recorded in the world. The sign says:

1910 Fire

More than 3,000,000 acres of timber in this area burned during an exceptionally dry summer in 1910. A gigantic firestorm on August 20 did unprecedented damage.

Skies in Montreal and London were blackened by its smoke, which interfered with North Atlantic Navigation. Strenuous efforts saved most of Wallace from its flames, but 85 firefighters were lost, mostly in other areas. Edward Pulaski's heroic measures to save his crew in a nearby mine have become a forest legend recounted in Wallace's mining museum at 509 Bank Street.

- Aaron Walton