The Peshtigo Fire

So many interesting, incredible and terrible stories came out of the Peshtigo Fire. Here are a couple that I couldn’t find space for in the video…

Father Pernin’s warning signs

In this video I mention the priest Peter Pernin, who wrote a book about the fire and how he survived it. I use two brief quotes from this book in the video, but it’s certainly worth reading the whole thing if you’re interested. One of the most fascinating things about it is that (even before the big fire of October 8th) Father Pernin had two extremely close calls with forest fires in the area.

In the first, he was out hunting with a local boy as a guide. They ended up getting lost in the woods, and found themselves surrounded by a ring of fire blazing in the undergrowth. Father Pernin summoned help by firing his gun into the air, and some men from a nearby settlement beat down the fire with tree branches to allow them to escape.

In the second, Father Pernin was riding his horse along a road near Peshtigo when he came upon a wall of smoke and dust blocking his way. After a moment of hesitation, he urged his horse through… and made it safely to the other side. There he found a crowd of Peshtigans anxiously waiting to see if it was safe to try and ride on through. He told them it was (since he had done so)… but, quite sensibly, only a few of them decided to risk it!

The dinner party

One more story from Father Pernin’s writings. On the day of the fire, feeling terribly uneasy, he set loose his horse (to give it the best chance of surviving should anything happen) and began to dig a protective trench around his home.

As he worked, he was observed by the family next door, who were hosting a dinner party. He heard some of the younger guests laughing at his actions, clearly unable to figure out why the local priest was behaving so oddly.

Once the party was over, though, the hostess came to see him, and asked if there was truly any danger. He told her that he thought there was, and that if there was a fire she should head for the river. Shortly after this, she did, taking her family with her.

Because of this, the hostess and her family survived. Father Pernin learned later that all but two of the other guests at her party had, unfortunately, perished in the blaze.