1910 fires

City officials on Monday praised the Missoula Fire Department for keeping an Independence Day house fire in the South Hills contained to a single structure and expressed condolences to the property owner.

The loss of life and property, and the damage to natural resources caused by the Big Burn did help save the U.S. Forest Service. Until that time, many detractors in Washington D.C. had called for cancellation of the "experiment." The debate over how best to prevent these summertime natural disasters, however, has continued for more than 100 years, and counting