It was a hot, dry, summer - the worst in anyone's memory. Humidity was low, as no rain had fallen. Idaho's forests were a prime target for the late summer lightning strikes. By August, there were almost 2,000 fires burning in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Montana. Everyone that could, was fighting fire.
US President Taft ordered three companies of soldiers to duty on the fire line. The smoke drifted as far east as the Midwest and eventually the east coast. The sun was blocked out in portions of Montana and you needed a lantern to read by. The largest stand of white pine in America was threatened with destruction.
A crew of firefighters, east of Wallace, Idaho, were cut off on their retreat from the fire and took refuge in the old War Eagle Mine. They soaked their clothes and blanket back pack in the trickle of water running out of the mine entrance - then covered up. By morning all but five had survived. Rescue crews hauled the survivors out on stretchers to Wallace. One third of the town had burned to the ground. Five special trains, with an assortment of cars, evacuated people to Spokane. Many needed medical attention.
One Fisher Creek, Mrs. William Boll went out to milk her cow in the early morning. She smelled smoke. Looking up the canyon she saw flames racing toward her homestead. Dropping her milk pail she got two horses from the corral. After saddling up, she and her two young children raced the advancing wall of fire for three hours. They finally reached Elk River and safety.
The town of Avery was evacuated by a train running over a track of burned ties. Looking back residents saw their town burn down. At Mullan the prisoners in jail were released to fight fires.
When it was all over it was determined that Idaho had 744 separate fires, with 1.7 million acres of prime forest destroyed. This was approximately 1/6 of the total forest acreage and over a half-billion board foot of lumber. Losses to individuals, town and lumber companies were in the millions. Soon the pine bark beetles moved in, destroying millions of surviving trees. Idaho's death toll stood at 77. There were lives lost in neighboring states, also.
The forest fires of 1910 were the worst in US history. This prompted Congress to pass the Weeks Act which provided federal aid to state and private forest owners. The West Coast Lumberman's Association was formed in 1911 to find ways to protect the forests. The Forest Service began fighting fires in the 1930s.
The Potlatch Forest Company began the practice of selective logging. They invested over $9 million in this endeavor. Other lumber companies followed suit, which started out by planting new trees, selective cutting of mature stands, cleaning up the forest floor and destroying weeds and insects.
Disaster struck Idaho again, June 6, 1976, with the collapse of the Teton Dam on the Teton River in eastern Idaho. There were 114,000 acres of irrigated land, in the Teton River Basin, that were subjected to summer water shortages and were sometimes flooded by spring run offs. Congress authorized dam construction in 1964 and by 1972 shifts of men were working. It was 305 feet high and 1600 feet wide at the base. The water was backed upstream for 17 miles. Leaks developed in the dam face as it filled. After trying to stop the leaks for months, the dam gave way and 80,000,000,000 gallons of water spilled downstream. The Upper Snake River Valley was flooded as the water moved westward to Roberts then back to the stream bed of the Snake River. Top soil was washed from the farm land in the flood’s path. Houses were swept from their foundations and one was seen moving down the Main Street of Rexburg. Farm machinery washed away and was demolished. 20-5000 people were driven from their homes and 18,000 head of livestock were lost. Property damage exceeded $600 million and 11 people lost their lives.
A massive relief effort resulted in the Mormon Church in listing aid from over 50,000 volunteers. In the following months of rebuilding, tens of thousands of pounds of food and clothing were donated. Ricks College, on the hills south of Rexburg, opened it’s doors and facilities to the needy and homeless. Over 390,000 free meals were served until August 18. Other church groups donated labor and food. Idaho Power Company sent caravans of crews and equipment to help. The Union Pacific Railroad, which lost 32 miles of track, sent help to their employees who suffered losses and kept them on the payroll.
Panels of experts, in their reports the following year, concluded that the Bureau of Land Management designers were at fault. The porous lava rock on the canyon sides was not stable enough to support a structure. The earthen fill, in the winter time, sometimes contained huge chunks of ice. The dam had leaked from early construction days. This should have been a warning. The Teton Dam will probably never be rebuilt.
At the town of Roberts, a mother cat moved her newly born kittens to an old crow's nest high in a tree. This was the day before the Teton Dam broke and inundated the town. Maybe animals have a sense of impending disaster. Who knows?