On September 1, 1894 two forest fires converged on the town of Hinckley,
Minnesota, trapping over 2,000 people. Daniel J. Brown recounts the
events surrounding the fire in the first and only book on to chronicle
the dramatic story that unfolded. Whereas Oregon's famous "Biscuit" fire
in 2002 burned 350,000 acres in one week, the Hinckley fire did the same
damage in five hours. The fire created its own weather, including
hurricane-strength winds, bubbles of plasma-like glowing gas, and
200-foot-tall flames. In some instances, "fire whirls," or tornadoes of
fire, danced out from the main body of the fire to knock down buildings
and carry flaming debris into the sky. Temperatures reached 1,600
degrees Fahrenheit--the melting point of steel. As the fire surrounded
the town, two railroads became the only means of escape. Two trains ran
the gauntlet of fire. One train caught on fire from one end to the
other. The heroic young African-American porter ran up and down the
length of the train, reassuring the passengers even as the flames tore
at their clothes. On the other train, the engineer refused to back his
locomotive out of town until the last possible minute of escape. In all,
more than 400 people died, leading to a revolution in forestry
management practices and federal agencies that monitor and fight
wildfires today.Author Daniel Brown has woven together numerous
survivors' stories, historical sources, and interviews with forest fire
experts in a gripping narrative that tells the fascinating story of one
of North America's most devastating fires and how it changed the nation.
