Three million acres burned in the Big Blow Up of 1910, and 87 + brave souls lost their lives. The United States Forest Service was but 5 years old at this time. US Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski led a group of men to safety as they held up in a mine tunnel just outside Wallace, Idaho, when the flames came to pass, all but 5 of the crew of 40 had survived.

One third of the town of Wallace Idaho was completely destroyed and up until the aftermath of this great fire of 1910 the US Forest Service was uncertain if the best way to handle a forest fire was to let it burn or fight. After all the devastation, it was decided the US Forest Service was to help prevent and go to battle every fire in our forests. August 20th and 21st hundreds will converge upon the small, once booming mining town of Wallace Idaho for the 100 year commemoration of this historic event. Come and visit, learn about the history of Ed Pulaski and our Pulaski tool.
Join many others as they walk Ed Pulaski’s route from the wilderness where he kept his men safe from death, hear from authors of books covering these fires and join in the dedication of the new firefighters memorial , see the Pulaski tool and learn about his life. To learn more visit this site. Looking forward to seeing you in Wallace!

More on the Big Blowup of 1910 on Wikipedia