Michigan on Fire

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.