A two month long drought and extreme heat in Minnesota fostered the perfect conditions for wildfires. Fires started up in the pine forests due to those conditions and the logging practices in the area. A massive firestorm ran through the area from September 1 to September 6, 1894. The fire burned 200,000 acres of land, and destroyed several towns. The description of people trying to escape was very harrowing. Many people left via trains driven by two engineers, and that was also a harrowing part of the story. I cannot imagine being in that position, but I know if a smoldering train pulled into my station and told me to run, they wouldn't need to tell me twice. So many people just shrugged off the warning, only to become trapped by the fire not long after. This fire destroyed so much, including over 400 lives. The description of the devastation it caused was amazing. The fire was so hot that it melted wheels on train cars, warped tracks, and melted nails and other things together.

I grew up in a fire family, so books like this are always interesting to me. It is interesting to compare major fires like this one from long ago to the more recent ones, like the one that took out Paradise. I thought the author, who was a relative of one of the survivors of this fire, did a wonderful job of telling the story of these people in a way that let you feel like you knew them. He had the benefit of an inside track, but also did an amazing amount of research. I liked the photos that were included in the book, including the ones of what the place looked like before and after the fire, and even one of a site as it appeared at the time the book was published. I highly recommend this book.