The fire is also famous for having killed Thomas P. "Boston" Corbett, the Union soldier who killed John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln's assassin. When the flamed abated, as many as 38 communities had been razed to the ground, 250,000 acres had been scorched, 52,000 persons had been injured or displaced and the costs mounted to nearly $75 million. One of the worst urban blazes in modern history, the Oakland Firestorm of 1991 began as a relatively small grass fire in the Berkeley Hills. A rendering of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It was the largest conflagration in Alaska's record-breaking 2004 fire season, which ended up seeing roughly 6.5 million acres of forest burned — the highest total in U.S. history. The area covered by the various blazes was massive: more than 500,000 acres stretching from Santa Barbara County all the way to the U.S.-Mexico border. By the time the blaze was dispelled, more than 3 million acres had burned and at least 160 people had been killed. The firestorm moved with remarkable ferocity despite lasting only about four hours. Such destruction — and in such a densely populated area — meant the disaster carried one of the heftiest price tags for wildfire damage in U.S. history: an estimated $1.5 billion. This mega-fire burned through 3 million acres of land and killed 87 people, most of whom were firefighters. The handling of the blaze went on to shape the future of the U.S. Forest Service. Wallace, Idaho was destroyed by the 1910 forest fires. Shocking footage of the fires was recorded by media outlets and individual citizens. In total, the fires displaced nearly 1 million people and razed at least 1,500 homes in the San Diego area alone. Immediately after the 1910 fire, the service vowed to fight all wildfires, even ones that are naturally occurring and of no threat to human life or property. Here are the 10 worst wildfires in American history: In 1871, during the week of Oct. 8-14, it must have seemed like the whole world was ablaze for residents of the Upper Midwest. Four of the worst fires in U.S. history all broke out in the same week across the region. The fire began after sparks from local railroad tracks ignited dry brush. The second worst fire in Minnesota history (behind the Cloquet Fire of 1918), the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 was a devastating blaze that ravaged more than 200,000 acres and claimed at least 418 lives — one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history. Wildfire season is upon us, and this year is shaping up to be another inferno, especially out West. Are Environmental Laws to Blame for California's Wildfires? April 2000, Gangwon-do Gangneung wildfire March 2013, Gyeongsangbukdo Pohang wildfire. People and ruins after the Cloquet fire, 1918. The Miramichi Fire burned 3 million acres in Maine and New Brunswick, killing 160 people. In the aftermath of the 1988 fire, stricter guidelines under which naturally occurring fires may be allowed to burn were enacted. Wild fires can travel fast and burn a football field per second. That all of these devastating fires happened at the same time, over such wide distances, has persuaded many researchers that it was no coincidence. The Great Fire of 1910, also occasionally referred to as the "Big Burn," is believed to be the largest single fire in recorded U.S. history. Australian Wildfires Spawn Rarely Seen Weather Phenomena, 40 Horses Saved From California Ranch Fire, Richard Smith from Orange County, USA [CC BY 2.0], all broke out in the same week across the region, largest single fire in recorded U.S. history, Alaska's record-breaking 2004 fire season. The Great Chicago Fire, which destroyed about a third of the city's valuation at the time and left more than 100,000 residents homeless, stole the headlines. “That was the biggest fire in Montana history,” Richmond said. By September 20, after rain and snow had significantly slowed most fire growth, the overall burned acreage in Montana was estimated at 1,295,959 acres (524,456 ha). In fact, some have even suggested that the fires were caused by a shower of meteorites, fragments from the impact of Comet Biela. The Miramichi Fire was one of the worst forest fires in North American history. The blaze eventually came to consume more than 280,000 acres — almost 30,000 of which were within the city limits of San Diego — and became the largest single fire in California's recorded history. It's a trend that comes as no surprise for many climate scientists, who have predicted that one of the effects of global warming will be increased heat waves and drought throughout the Western United States. The merits of this policy are still debated today, especially by ecologists who insist that some wildfires are necessary for ecosystem health. But after being persistently fanned by the strong seasonal "Diablo winds," that brush fire eventually grew to consume 1,520 acres, including more than 3,500 homes, apartments and condominiums. Browse a list of the largest, most costly and deadliest wildfires in U.S. history. The largest fire from that year was the so-called Cedar Fire, a blaze that began after a lost hunter lit a small signal fire in the Cleveland National Forest, just 25 miles from San Diego. It burned more than 3 million acres in Idaho, Montana and Washington — in all, a total area roughly the size of Connecticut. But in the decades leading up to the 1988 fire, a new policy allowing for controlled burns had been tested. There were 87 fatalities from the fire and 78 of those were firefighters. Wildfires Are the 'New Normal' for California, Amid California Wildfires, a Horse's Life Is Saved, California's Wildfires Are Spawning 'Fire' Clouds, California Wildfires Creating Air Pollution Crisis, This Is What the Carr Fire in California Looks Like From a Plane, Death Toll Continues to Rise in California Wildfires, Insurance Companies Deploy Private Firefighters in Wildfire-Scorched California, Urban Air Pollution Skyrockets as California Wildfires Burn, 10 of the Top U.S. Cities for Nature Lovers, California Fires Threaten Endangered Joshua Trees. Ground fires at Grant Village during the 1988 Yellowstone Park fire. It is said that they shared the water with livestock and even wild animals, including raccoons, deer, bears and large moose, all trying to escape the flames. The fire was heavily covered by the media, in part because of the size of the blaze, but also due to Yellowstone's prestige as one of the most famous national parks in the world. By the time the fire subsided, more than 2 million acres had been scorched — roughly a third of the entire park. Though most of its damage was done in New Brunswick (around the Canadian city of Miramichi), the firestorm also reached well into the U.S. state of Maine. Blazes leveled the Michigan cities of Holland and Manistee in what has been referred to as the Great Michigan Fire, while across the state another fire destroyed the city of Port Huron. So it could be that the worst wildfires in U.S. history are the ones that have yet to happen. The worst fire of them all, however, might have been the Great Peshtigo Fire, a firestorm that ravaged the Wisconsin countryside, leaving more than 1,500 dead — the most fatalities by fire in U.S. history. Drivers scramble up the embankment to escape as the Cedar Fire crosses the freeway. Fire on Mount Miguel in San Diego County on Oct. 23, 2007. Each wildfire season in California seems to top the last, but the 2007 wildfires are especially notable for leading to the largest evacuation in California history. The Great Fire of 1910, also occasionally referred to as the "Big Burn," is believed … U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt Giles M. Isham/Wikimedia Commons. But 2003 might have been the worst year on record for the Golden State. The largest wildfire on record in the U.S. since 1997, Alaska's Taylor Complex Fire of 2004 burned more than 1,300,000 acres. The Great Fire of 1910 in northern Idaho and western Montana is thought to be the largest wildfire in recorded US history. It's a scary thought, especially considering the damage that wildfires have done in this country. April 2019, Gangwon Province wildfire. Miraculously, no lives were lost as a direct result of the flames, even though as many as 25,000 firefighters had been dispatched to battle the conflagration.