Nebraska settlers found a vast expanse of bluestem, which could be highly inflammable. The danger was greatest during the late autumn of a dry season before the winter’s snows or after the snow melted during a dry spring. Smoke indicating a prairie fire was sometimes visible for days, and the horizon correspondingly illuminated at night. Fires sometimes originated as far away as Dakota Territory.
Nebraska’s biggest prairie fire
Men fighting a prairie fire in Thomas County in the Nebraska Sandhills, 1890.
A collection of photographs featuring the farm and ranch lifestyle throughout America's history.
