More devastating than the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the forest fires that swept from shore-to-shore across Michigan in that year and again ten years later left hundreds dead, tens of thousands homeless, and millions of acres burned. Michigan on Fire is meticulously researched and sensitively told. It details miraculous stories of survival and tragic tales of mass killing by relentless flames. This comprehensive chronicle of Michigan forest fires from 1871 through 1974 includes chapters devoted to the history of firefighting equipment in Michigan, the role played by rescue ships and trains, and the relief work performed by the American Red Cross during the Thumb fires - the organization's first domestic disaster test. The Great Fires of 1871, Thumb Fires of 1881, Upper Peninsula Fires, the Metz Fire of 1908 and the AuSable-Oscoda Fire of 1911 are all covered in Michigan on Fire. Never before have all early Michigan forest fires been documented between the covers of just one volume. From start to finish, Michigan on Fire is hard to put down.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent reference! Seriously researched!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Michigan on Fire (Paperback)
I found this book to be a forthright and over due documentation of the devasting fires that swept the great lakes state. I commend the author for her compassionate style in documenting a time in Michigan History that touched nearly every family in this great lake state. Hard to put down.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fiery Michigan,
By wcinro (Michigan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Michigan on Fire (Paperback)
In 2007, wildfire season statistics released by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources stated that 395 fires burned 20,881 acres across the state. The "18,185-acre Sleeper Lake Fire began with a lightning strike . . . and spread rapidly . . ." No lives were lost in the Sleeper Lake Fire, but it cost an "estimated $7.5 million" to suppress the Sleeper Lake Fire.This 2007 catastrophe was not the last Michigan forest fire nor was it the first. Other forest fires had burned through Michigan prior to the first recorded catastrophic forest fire on October 8, 1871; that date became forever known as "the day Michigan burned." In 1881, the Thumb Fire wiped out 70 townships, 1,521 homes, and over 220 people. An estimated 13,000 victims needed assistance. The fledgling American Red Cross faced its first domestic disaster test with the 1881 Thumb Fire. During this same time period, many devastating fires raged through the lush, green Upper Peninsula - in some cases pitting corporate greed against the needs of the general population. The Metz Fire of 1908, as reported in an October 16, 1908 Detroit News article, "was a raging volcano" that burned to death 15 men, women, and children. In Alpena, 17 persons were known to be dead due to this fire. On July 11, 1911, twin fires destroyed the twin cities of Oscoda and Au Sable. During the week of the fire, numerous small forest fires were reported burning in the area. A forest fire advanced toward AuSable ultimately setting it aflame. Oscoda began to burn at about the same time. Winds - reported to be 50 miles per hour - carried the flames across the Au Sable River Valley. Oscoda and Au Sable were both destroyed when the twin fires joined forces The author organized Michigan on Fire into five sections. Each section provides a history of the area and provides details of the extent and causes of the fires she chronicles. In the conclusion, Sodders presents a history of Michigan fire fighting. The bibliography offers a comprehensive list of books, papers, periodicals, research reports and government reports. Michigan on Fire is well researched and details the events of not only the fires listed in the above paragraph but other fires across the state as well. The author provides commentary but primarily uses eye-witness accounts, newspaper articles, poems, and stories written after the fires occurred to tell the tale of Michigan's fiery history. These accounts tell of courageous efforts to save families and homes, miraculous survivals, devastating loss, and the kindness of neighbors and strangers in times of need. The stories paint a disastrous picture of what occurred; however, they are not gruesome but rather sensitively narrated. All of the early Michigan forest fires have been documented between the covers of this book. If you want to know some history about this great state we inhabit, this book gives it to you.
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