The great fire of 1919

[skidderman]

In discussing forest fires of today I learned of the great fire of 1919. It wiped out most of the town of Lac La Biche and never stopped until it almost reached Prince Albert. It was classified as one of the top 10 fires in Canada. No one then called it global warming or climate change. Here is the story and it is certainly a big part of early Canadian history.
https://foresthistory.org/wp-content...Fireof1919.pdf

[huntinstuff]

They called it what it was....a fire

Not due to "climate change"

Fire + fuel

[rjlester]

I read a book recently called "Gully Farm" about a girl who lived north of Lashburn Saskatchewan starting in about 1903. They would get a huge grass fire EVERY YEAR during that period for many years. There was not very much bush at all on the prairies in those days as the buffalo herds were so huge in the 1800s. The herds would trample the earth so only grass would grow and trees were only found along lakes and rivers typically.

The farmers would all have to plow a fire break around their house and yard when they would see the fire coming. She described it in great detail in the book, it was frightening what they went through. Again, this happened every year for more than ten years if I remember it right.

Wasn't called climate change, it was a fact of life.

Now the number of fires we are having in this country right now is very suspect to me. If you look at the video of the fires starting in Quebec, they all started AT THE SAME TIME.

[Grizzly Adams1]

The fire of 1910, started in Idaho and burned as far as the North Saskatchewan river. How soon we forget.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_1910

Grizz

[leo]

It's a safe bet to assume that every possible weather condition in the past 50 years, is a repeat of the past. The drought and dust storms of the 1920's and 30's, huge forest fires etc. It is the arrogance and ignorance of modern society to think they can control their environment to suit themselves. More import, it is just another means for politicians to control the masses, and to take advantage of their lack of reason. I'm from Northern Alberta originally. Stories of my father and uncles who lived through huge fires and drought are not lost on me. Hell, there was no Beaver or Whitetail deer in those parts until after the fires burnt off the huge tracts of old growth spruce. Those critters never moved in until the 50's.

[Drewski Canuck]

The early pictures of Banff and Jasper National Park show NO TREES. There was a big fire in the 1890's that pretty much burned everything to Grande Prairie and north.

The reason the Settlers came out of the trees onto the Northern Prairie was that the fire was so hot it burned all the conifer cones and destroyed the root systems of everything else leaving grass for 100's of miles.

Now if the forest areas had been harvested in a block pattern to reduce the amount of continuous mature trees, there would have been that much less to burn out of control.

Drewski

[Who Da Fisherman]

Oh boy those guys driving ther Model T's throwing smokes out the window, when will it ever end?
Sorry just a shot at the guys who blame smokers for all these fires!
WDF

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

The early pictures of Banff and Jasper National Park show NO TREES. There was a big fire in the 1890's that pretty much burned everything to Grande Prairie and north.

The reason the Settlers came out of the trees onto the Northern Prairie was that the fire was so hot it burned all the conifer cones and destroyed the root systems of everything else leaving grass for 100's of miles.

Now if the forest areas had been harvested in a block pattern to reduce the amount of continuous mature trees, there would have been that much less to burn out of control.

Drewski

Neighbor down the road lived till he was 92 (last year). Born and raised here. Looking west towards Limestone he said there were very few trees out there when he was a kid.

Logging blocks in this area are layed out to mimic fires. Very useful tool for fire control