The Big Burn: The Forgotten Firestorm That Changed America

 The 1910 Big Burn wasn’t a wildfire — it was a firestorm that outran horses, erased towns in minutes, and nearly destroyed the entire U.S. Forest Service.

In August 1910, a perfect storm of drought, wind, bad policy, and impossible conditions triggered one of the most devastating disasters in American history. This is the real story of the Big Burn—and why its lessons still matter.

You’ll learn how disaster conditions align, why suppression shaped modern megafires, and how Ranger Ed Pulaski saved his men against impossible odds.

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Related Episodes / Playlists
The Big Burn’s most relevant companion episodes:
• Piper Alpha Disaster – https://youtu.be/eBoFtdwMr6E
• Disaster Files Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvguDu9efxtos3CO6X-8E05p-gX1riBPz
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📚 References
U.S. Forest Service Big Burn Overview – https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r1/learning/history-culture/?cid=stelprdb5279646
Pulaski Tunnel Trail Information – https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ipnf/recarea/?recid=6765
National Interagency Fire Center Historical Fires – https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/historical
Smithsonian Magazine – The Big Burn of 1910 – https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-big-burn-180952126/
Library of Congress Wildfire Archive – https://www.loc.gov/collections/wildfires/
Speed & Spread Documentation (re: “outrunning horses”)
Forest History Society – The 1910 Fires – https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/famous-fires/the-1910-fires/
Historical summary describing hurricane-force winds, rapid spread, and escape attempts outrun by the firestorm.
InterMountainHistories.org – “The Big Burn” – https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/623
Contains firsthand-style testimony: “Firefighters … reported that it was near impossible to outrun the heat because the inferno moved at the speed of a charging horse.”

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Credits
Music: YouTube Audio Library
Images/Footage:  iStock and Getty, backdrops are generated by AI.
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Hashtags
#BigBurn #WildfireHistory #DisasterFiles #AnOuncePodcast
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🎯 Chapters (Timestamps)
(Estimated based on final narrative pacing)
00:00 – Fire Outran Horses
00:20 – The Big Burn of 1910
01:37 – The Conditions for Disaster
03:08 – Crown Fire
05:05 – The 48-Hour Firestorm
06:00 – Inside the Pulaski Tunnel
07:57 – Aftermath & What Was Lost
09:50 – An Ounce
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