Four Days of Fury, NH's largest forest fire

[RoySwkr]

This DVD presentation is presently narrated in person, but presumably will be sold eventually.

In April 1941, the woods of SW NH were full of fallen trees from the 1938 hurricane, and portable sawmills had been set up all over. The weather mid-month was very dry with a high of 91 degrees (nearly 50 degrees over today!). On April 28, a gas engine at a portable sawmill near Gustin Pond in Marlow backfired and the fire spread to the lumber piles. The mill crew raced to the nearest telephone, and the Pitcher Mtn fire tower reported the fire spreading to the woods. There was only limited response the first day a there were 3 other large fires in the area, and the fire burned S along a ridge W of the village.

The second day the wind shifted and the fire surrounded Marlow village, downtown structures were saved but dozens of outlying farms, cottages, homes, and mills were burned including the fire tower which went up like a torch. More resources were sent including CCC crews from VT, state forestry and highway crews, other fire departments, and youthful sightseers who were drafted into service. Eventually there were 2000 firefighters or 8 times the population of Marlow.

The fire continued to burn E on the 3rd day but Stoddard village was saved. On the 4th day, the wind reversed blowing the fire back over areas previously burned and the front brought 4" of snow (unusual for May 1). This allowed the fire to be brought under control although some sawdust piles smoldered for weeks. Over 40,000 acres were burned (more than half of the areas of Marlow & Stoddard) but no lives lost. While small by western standards, the expense for 4 days was more than double the town's annual budget and the Legislature passed a law still in effect providing state aid for expense beyond $5/$1000.

One notable feature still evident is the Marlow Profile uncovered by the fire.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=43.12745&lon=-72.20747&datum=nad27&u=4&layer=DRG&size=s&s=50

 

[Andrew]

And the forest's of Marlow and Stoddard still tell the story with the forest type that grows.
Great read Thanks!

I have heard about the "Old Man of Marlow" and assume it is up off Marlow Hill Rd, but never discovered it?

 

[Papa Bear]

A good story, especially the work that went in to fighting the fire. Couple of comments:

> Things never change, do they? Slash (man made or natural) can cause big problems. There's always that spark from an old rail road, or a saw mill. Disasters are waiting to happen.

> I thought the fire that destroyed the Pemi (1920s??), which was also due to slash and the inevitable spark (that time man made), was the biggest fire in NH history. No?

 

[RoySwkr]

I have heard about the "Old Man of Marlow" and assume it is up off Marlow Hill Rd, but never discovered it?

I'm not sure whether I've ever seen it, certainly not recently. The topozone link above shows it off Rte.123, and the DVD shows it partly obscured by trees so go now before the leaves come out

> I thought the fire that destroyed the Pemi (1920s??), which was also due to slash and the inevitable spark (that time man made), was the biggest fire in NH history. No?

The narrator claimed this was the largest but didn't mention any others for comparison. He gave the actual acreage which was over 40,000 but I didn't write down the exact number. Can you find any figures on the others?

 

[blacknblue]

I thought the fire that destroyed the Pemi (1920s??), which was also due to slash and the inevitable spark (that time man made), was the biggest fire in NH history. No?

Yes, that fire was caused, or at least exacerbated, by poor logging practices. The fire occurred in 1907 and the Weeks Act passed in 1911, which gave birth to the WMNF, which protected the area against further reckless logging practices.