[Islander7]

Could A Meteorite or Comet Cause All The Fires of 1871?

An Upper Peninsula systems design engineer thinks so, as does a former physicist with McDonnell Douglas Corp.

Consider a statement by the Detroit Post on Oct. 10, 1871: "In all parts of the state, as will be noticed by our correspondence during the past few days and also today, there are numerous fires in the wood, in many places approaching so near to towns as to endanger the towns themselves."

In Holland, fire destroyed the city, in Lansing flames threatened the agricultural college and in the Thumb, farmers trying to establish homesteads soon would be diving into shallow wells to escape an inferno some newspapers dubbed: "The Fiery Fiend." Many did not escape.

[LegendHasIt]

NASA says otherwise

I have a friend that is a famous professional meteorite hunter. He says that there were a few that might have caused some fires, but it is a very rare situation with freakish coincidences.

[mcshot]

Thanks for the post Islander7. I live in the U.P. and found the articles interesting. While bird hunting two years ago I found what appears to be a small meteor impact sight (fresh). I hope to locate the spot in the spring and now have a good GPS to mark such stuff. Have another spot to investigate near my deer blind.

[Carilisa]

The Great Chicago Fire started in the same timeframe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chicago_Fire
Ya, it's Wiki.