Summer of 1894
Wildfires need 4 ingredients: high temperatures, low humidity, strong winds, and fuel.
In the summer of 1894 the average temperature in Hinckley was 4.2 degrees above normal and no rainfall was reported between May and September. May Gorman Newman, a resident of Hinckley at the time, said "All summer we had no rain, and the brush and grass in the swamps were bone dry." Alice Wilcox, another resident, said, "It had been a terribly dry summer. We hadn't had a drop of rain for 2 months, and everyone was worried about the fire danger. Each day dawned hot and dry with the sun a red hot smokey ball in the sky." She went on to add, "Everyone went about their work trying not to think about the constant menace of the tinder-dry slashings which had been left by over eager-lumbermen."
Fires were not an uncommon sight around Hinckley that summer. May Gorman Newman stated, "Small fires sprang up at times and were soon doused by railroad laborers, as most fires were set by sparks from the train engines."
It seemed that the only ingredient missing was strong winds. These would come September 1, 1894.
In the summer of 1894 the average temperature in Hinckley was 4.2 degrees above normal and no rainfall was reported between May and September. May Gorman Newman, a resident of Hinckley at the time, said "All summer we had no rain, and the brush and grass in the swamps were bone dry." Alice Wilcox, another resident, said, "It had been a terribly dry summer. We hadn't had a drop of rain for 2 months, and everyone was worried about the fire danger. Each day dawned hot and dry with the sun a red hot smokey ball in the sky." She went on to add, "Everyone went about their work trying not to think about the constant menace of the tinder-dry slashings which had been left by over eager-lumbermen."
Fires were not an uncommon sight around Hinckley that summer. May Gorman Newman stated, "Small fires sprang up at times and were soon doused by railroad laborers, as most fires were set by sparks from the train engines."
It seemed that the only ingredient missing was strong winds. These would come September 1, 1894.