They Blamed The Weather For Burning Down Hundreds Of Cities

Dry weather. A candle left burning. A kitchen stove. Children playing with a cannon. Those are the official causes behind some of the great fires of the 1800s — a century in which city after city, on every inhabited continent, burned to the ground. Each fire was recorded on its own, with its own local cause. Each city was rebuilt "with measures against fire." And many of them burned again anyway. One independent researcher set out to list these fires expecting hundreds and found thousands. In this episode we follow his list: the towns that burned 5 and 7 times, the fires that arrived in clusters in the same year and the same region, the night of October 8, 1871 when 5 places around Lake Michigan burned at once, the cities where the burning was openly admitted to be deliberate, and Charleston, South Carolina — one city followed through 200 years of fire, fever, war and storm. And a surprise for longtime viewers: 6 of the 7 cities from our Washington, D.C. episode appear again on this list. The theories presented here belong to the researchers named as such in the video. We place them beside the official record so you can weigh both for yourself. Related episodes: What Was Here Before Washington, D.C.: https://youtu.be/gyjjtKpP6SA About the images: The historical photographs, engravings and maps in this video are authentic archival material. Many have been digitally upscaled with AI tools to improve sharpness and resolution for modern screens. No images in this video were generated by AI, and no scenes, people or buildings were added or altered. Upscaling can soften or reconstruct very fine detail, so for close study please refer to the original archival copies. #GreatFires #LostHistory #1800s