The Great Chicago Fire

................ burned from Sunday October 8 until Tuesday, October 10, killing 300 or more people and destroying over three square miles of the city.

Oddly enough, also on October the 8th, the town of Peshtigo Wisconsin caught fire.By the time it was over, 1,875 square miles of forest had been consumed, an area approximately twice the size of Rhode Island, 1.5 million acres burned. Twelve communities were destroyed. Possibly as many as 3,000 people perished.

Holland, Manistee Michigan, Port Huron and Lake Huron also burned.

Some historians claim it was the result of carelessness or deliberate arson. Some speculate it was kinetic bombardment by fragments from the Comet Biela.