e hopeless and slowly it dawned upon the people that the town would be consumed. And, around midnight, as the people began to realize the true danger of the situation, the fire launched its destructive might upon the village proper. Elliot sums up the results of the fire by saying, “Stories are told of people being burned to death in their homes, on the streets while trying to get others out of houses, and while fleeing to the river where many tried to take refuge from the flames. All in all, the fire burned an area of more that 1.25 million acres, and killed some 1,000 people—taking more lives than any other single fire on record.” Certainly, the Peshtigo fire was an alarming incident that should have pointed towards the need for change. However, at the time, communications were lacking to say the least, and it took some time for the public to become aware of the tragedy. Even then, the alarm bells for change apparently did not sound off loud enough for little was done. Ironically, the reason for this could also be found in the very force that had destroyed Peshtigo and so many other areas. For fire was not only a source of alarm, it is also a force that increases the demand for even more lumber. As the immediate result of most fires is an attempt at reconstruction. To better understand this, perhaps it is best to note that on the same day that the Peshtigo fire destroyed so many lives, the Great Fire of Chicago also occurred. And, as Richard G. Lillard points out, in “the next year the city [of Chicago] handled enough lumber to cover three thousand acres twenty feet deep. Lumber docks extended for twelve miles along the Chicago River.” Legislative Efforts at Conservation Not until 1897 was another legislative committee formed concerning forest-related problems. Quaife says that the committee was formed and “charged with the preparation of a plan for the proper utilization of the...
