Wildfire history

Wildfires continue to rage across the country as over 8.3 million acres have burned since the beginning of 2026. This is nearly double last year’s figure at this time, and the highest within the last 10 years. Changes in extreme temperatures, humidity, winds and reductions in rainfall have helped fuel major fires in western U.S.

Historically, during the 1800s, organized wildfire fighting was limited in the U.S. Farmers, settlers, loggers, and local communities generally fought fires with simple hand tools, buckets, shovels, and improvised firebreaks. There was no nationwide system for detecting or responding to wildfires. As settlements expanded, logging and development altered many forests.

One firestorm did raise public awareness concerning nature conservation and helped shape the U.S. Forest Service. It was the “Great Fire of 1910,” or the “Big Blow Up,” which massive wildfire that burned three million acres in only two days across northeastern Washington, the Panhandle of North Idaho and western Montana. The huge blaze occurred Aug. 20-21, 1910, during a spring and summer of extremely dry and hot conditions.

In 1910, small fires were set from hot cinders flung from locomotives, sparks and lightning from isolated thunderstorms. Then on Aug. 20, a strong weather system brought hurricane-force winds that whipped many of those small blazes into the gigantic inferno.

One of the most amazing survival stories from that fire was that of Ed Pulaski, a U.S. Forest Service ranger. While fighting this massive blaze, prior to being overtaken by the flames, he led a large group of men to safety in an abandoned mine outside Wallace. He knew that if anyone ran, there was no chance of survival. Pulaski threatened to shoot the first one who tried to leave.

The men passed out in the mine due to the smoke, but only five of the estimated 40 persons didn’t survive. Ed Pulaski was credited for saving their lives and for the invention of the Pulaski hand tool still used for firefighting in wooded areas.

Around the middle of the 20th century, technology helped to transform firefighting. Aircraft began playing an increasingly important role in detecting fires and transporting firefighters. Eventually, airplanes capable of dropping water or fire retardant became important suppression tools. This included the Boeing 747 supertanker. The plane did hold up nearly 20,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in a single pass. However, the 747 supertanker retired in 2021 due to high operating costs.

In 1944, the U.S. Forest Service introduced the national Smokey Bear campaign, which encouraged Americans to prevent human-caused wildfires. This public campaign became one of the most recognizable environmental public-service efforts in American history. Smokey was named after a legendary New York City fireman, Joseph “Smokey Joe” Martin. In 1950, a wildfire in New Mexico orphaned a black bear cub that was clinging to a charred tree. After being nursed back to health from burns on his paws and legs, he was officially named Smokey and became the symbol for wildfire prevention for 26 years. Amazingly, the bear received so much fan mail that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own unique zip code of 20252.

Toward the end of the 20th century, scientists began to recognize an unintended consequence of long-term aggressive fire suppression. Many forests naturally depend on periodic fire to remove accumulated vegetation and maintain ecological balance. Suppressing nearly every fire allowed fuels to build up in some areas, potentially contributing to larger and more intense fires when they eventually occurred. As a result, agencies increasingly incorporated prescribed burning, mechanical fuel reduction, and other forest-management practices into wildfire policy.

Fire managers now use satellites, aircraft, drones, weather models, computerized mapping, and sophisticated communications systems to monitor and fight fires. However, extreme heat and dryness, especially in the western U.S. continues to fuel disastrous wildfires.

In terms of our local weather, only 0.01 inches of rain fell at Cliff Harris’s station in Coeur d’Alene in July and August. According to his records, that is the driest two-month period in recorded history. At the Spokane International Airport, there were only trace amounts of rain reported in July and August.

However, early September finally brought some much-needed shower activity to the Inland Northwest. About one-third of an inch of moisture fell in Coeur d’Alene with 0.12 inches in Spokane.

There are the chance of more showers and a few thunderstorms over the next several weeks, but the overall trend still has a strong ridge of high pressure over the western states. Therefore, unless there is a relatively strong thunderstorm that produces a lot of rain, we’ll likely end up with another month with below-normal precipitation in the region. The normal precipitation for Coeur d’Alene in September is 1.48 inches.

Long-term climatology for this region suggests that moisture from the Pacific is expected to bring some relief to the current drought situation, but not likely until at least late September or October. As I’ve mentioned earlier, drought patterns are difficult to break and with a very strong El Niño, we’ll have to wait and see.

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Contact Randy Mann at [email protected].