Idaho’s Big Burn of 1910 Changed How America Fights Fire

A summer primed to burn

The summer of 1910 was exceptionally dry across the northern Rocky Mountains. Lightning ignited many fires, while human activity also contributed to the region’s fire problem. The U.S. Forest Service had existed for only five years and lacked the staffing, equipment and transportation needed to reach every remote ignition.

By August, crews were scattered across a patchwork of fires in northern Idaho, western Montana and eastern Washington. Firefighters often worked with hand tools, pack animals and limited communications. A fire that seemed manageable in one drainage could become a threat to another community before help arrived.

August 20: the Big Blowup

On August 20, powerful winds swept across the region and drove many separate fires into fast-moving fronts. Burning debris started new fires ahead of the main flames. The wind and heat overwhelmed lines that crews had spent days building.

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center records roughly 3 million acres burned over only a few days and an official death toll of 85, including 78 Forest Service firefighters. Historical sources differ slightly in how they count the dead, but all describe an extraordinary loss of life. The worst destruction was concentrated around August 20 and 21.

Wallace became a symbol of the disaster

Wallace was a busy mining town in the Idaho Panhandle, connected to neighboring communities by rail. As the fires approached, trains helped evacuate residents. The flames destroyed homes and businesses, and about one-third of the town burned, according to the Forest History Society.

The accompanying archival photograph shows the damaged town. It is not an image of a modern wildfire or a dramatic reconstruction; it is a historical record of what residents faced. Smoke and ash from the regional fires traveled immense distances, turning a local emergency into national news.

Ed Pulaski and the mine tunnel

One of the best-known survival stories unfolded south of Wallace. Forest ranger Ed Pulaski gathered a crew as the flames cut off their escape route. Knowing the surrounding terrain from earlier mining work, he led the men to an abandoned mine tunnel near Placer Creek.

Pulaski used the tunnel as a last refuge, trying to keep heat and smoke from overwhelming the men inside. Several died, but most survived. Accounts differ about the exact crew size and number of deaths; what is clear is that his decision saved many lives. Pulaski later became associated with the combination axe-and-hoe firefighting tool that bears his name.

His story should not eclipse the other crews, residents, soldiers and railroad workers who faced the fire. The Big Burn was a regional catastrophe, not the story of one hero alone.

The policy shift—and its unintended effects

The young Forest Service emerged from 1910 under intense pressure to prevent another catastrophe. Fire detection, staffing and rapid suppression became central priorities. The disaster was a major influence on that direction, although it was not the sole reason federal policy evolved as it did.

In 1935, the agency formalized its famous “10 a.m.” policy: the goal was to control a newly reported fire by 10 the following morning. That rule did not begin in 1910, but the earlier disaster helped create the political and institutional momentum behind it.

Over time, researchers demonstrated that fire also performs essential ecological work in many forests. Decades of excluding low-intensity fire contributed to fuel buildup in some landscapes. Modern management therefore includes prescribed fire and, under appropriate conditions, allowing some naturally ignited fires to burn. Protecting lives and communities remains the priority.

Where Idahoans can encounter this history

Near Wallace, the Pulaski Tunnel Trail follows part of the route taken by the crew. The approximately four-mile round-trip hike leads to an overlook of the mine tunnel and includes interpretive signs about the 1910 fire. The trail is a historical walk, not a visit inside the tunnel.

The route has climbing and can be affected by snow, fallen trees and changing mountain weather. Anyone considering an October visit should check current access and conditions with the Idaho Panhandle National Forests before driving to the trailhead.

The story is also preserved in the University of Idaho Library’s Big Burn photographic collection and in the Forest History Society’s accounts. Those records help explain why a fire in North Idaho changed decisions made about forests across the United States.