In 1919, soldiers were returning home from World War 1, the average family was getting around using horses, and the new population of Canada was seeking to settle into farm country and prosper. Clearing land was an essential part to homesteading back then, as such, many fires were lit to burn brush to build “productive” agriculture land. With no resources available to fight forest fires, once a fire was lit it tended not to stop. With over 2 million hectares burned over 10 days, multiple fatalities and burned communities, this fire was one of the largest and most catastrophic wildfires in Canadian history. Peter J. Murphy has spent the last 3 and a half decades researching these fires that were almost lost to the history books. An incredible story.
#70-The Great Fire with Peter Murphy