The Great Fire of 1919

 

The Great Fire of 1919 – Lanc La Biche, Canada

Lanc La Biche was an attractive place to place settlements, as it had great soil on the forest-prairie edge that those who would like to farm would value highly that far up north. Though another industry became commonplace there, as logging began to take hold of the area due to its large forests. Though these two industries are likely what started the wildfire that scarred Lanc La Biche for years to come. It is unclear what exactly caused the fire, but the main suspects are some combination of the logging practices of the area not storing lumber properly, farmers burning brush for farmland, and the drought brought on that spring. Whatever the cause may be, the result was a fire of dangerous proportions. Many saw the fire first as what was thought to be an eclipse, though it was later realized to be the fire’s glow and smoke. The fire was quick, too fast to outrun, and constantly changed direction which made it very dangerous as it passed through the boreal forest as it covered the community in an all-consuming soke (Murphy, Peter, 2015). News of the fire did not spread quickly as telephone lines were already consumed by the fire, meaning that many people had to fend for themselves for a long time. Some attempted to choke out the fire using backfires, though this ended up feeding into the fire. The fire reached approximately 200km and caused $200,000 in property damage and at least 11 dead (Murphy, Peter, 2015), as well as destroying the forest that a very large portion of the population lived off of, annihilating the economy.

Lanc La Biche was a prime target for a wildfire on a deadly scale as it has many aspects that sets up for a disastrous fire. First being the boreal forest due to its high level of timber, debris, peat, moss, shrubs, and grass. Then there is the main industries in the area giving more fuel to the fire in a very literal sense. This can be coupled with the occasionally hot and dry springs, especially for Canada’s standard. Then the fact that the very buildings are made of wood makes it clear that a fire is very likely to happen, and when it did, it would be disastrous. This makes it all the worse that people were aware of the dangers that fires could cause, as older settlers had experienced other smaller fires in the past, but their only real defense was fire rangers and their personal attempts and fire preventions rather than something issued by the government. Though, the most frightening aspect of this story isn’t the lack of preparedness or the damage it caused, but instead the fact that it is known by some as “the forgotten fire” as those outside of Lanc La Biche rarely remember it’s occurrence (Lewis, James, 2016). This is concerning as this fire is one that caused great damage to people, places and the economy but could have had better ways to deal with it before this level of tragedy hit. But instead of learning from this experience and using it as a cautionary tale and a reason to improved answers to wildfires, they instead forget about its existence, which may mean that they will be unprepared for when it happens again.

Ranker, Eric Luis, 2021 https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-wildfires-in-history/eric-vega [ID  an ongoing wildfire with billowing smoke clouds] This image was chosen to show the fire traveling through the boreal forest.

World Press, Merle Masse, 2016 https://merlemassie.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/the-great-fire-of-1919/ [ID a giant smoke cloud covering the horizon] This image is to show the scale of the fire.

Cottage Life, Stacy McLeod, 2014 https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/the-most-devastating-forest-fires-in-canadian-history/ [ID people rendered homeless due to the wildfire] This image is to show the damage caused by the fire (and also because so few images relating to this fire exist).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrDi0AXASMc

This video discusses how wildfires in Canada start. It then relates this knowledge to how people can prepare for wildfires in the future. This video was chosen because I could not find a single video about the fire I chose and this video still relates to the concept.

 

Forest History, (spring/fall 2015), The Great Fire of 1919: People and a Shared Firestorm in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, by Peter J. Murphy, Cordy Tymstra, and Myrle Masse, retrieved November 27^th, 2024 from https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2015_GreatFireof1919.pdf

Forest History, (May 6^th, 2016), The Fort McMurray Fire and the Great Fire of 1919, by James Lewis, retrieved November 27^th, 2024 from https://foresthistory.org/the-fort-mcmurray-fire-and-the-great-fire-of-1919/

Cottage Life, (July 17^th, 2014), The Most Devastating Forest Fires in Canadian History, by Stacy Mcleod, retrieved November 27^th, 2024 from https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/the-most-devastating-forest-fires-in-canadian-history/

World Press, (May 19^th, 2015), The Great Fire of 1919, by Merle Masse, retrieved November 28^th, 2024 from https://merlemassie.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/the-great-fire-of-1919/

Calgary Herald, (May 9^th, 2023), The Most Tragic Wildfires to Scorch The Prairies, by Monica Zurowski, retrieved November 28^th, 2024 from https://calgaryherald.com/feature/tragic-wildfires-history-canadian-prairies