The True Number Of People Killed In The Great Hinckley Fire Is Unknown
Hinckley Fire MuseumThe town of Hinckley was one of several destroyed by the fire.
On Sept. 1, 1894, the people of Minnesota experienced the second-deadliest wildfire in the state’s history.
It wasn’t uncommon for small fires to burn in the pine forests of northern Minnesota at the time, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. However, the dry and windy conditions on that fateful day in September combined two such fires into one enormous blaze.
Soon, the flames reportedly reached heights of over 200 feet. They were moving so quickly that even horses couldn’t outrun them, and they were hot enough to melt the wheels of railroad cars, fusing them to the tracks.
People tried to escape the blaze by jumping into ponds and rivers, while others jumped onto trains. One of these trains rushed out of the town of Hinckley in reverse, with flames from the burning forests on either side of the tracks licking at it as it passed. The train made it over a trestle bridge moments before it collapsed, and when it pulled into a depot in Superior that evening, 800 people safely deboarded.
Hinckley Fire MuseumThe fire burned so hot it melted and twisted railroad tracks.
The worst of the fire lasted only four hours, but it burned over 400 square miles. The official number of deaths sits at 413, but an untold number of Native Americans and rural residents likely perished as well, and bodies were found for years after.
