The Great Adirondack Fire of 1903
Thoughts about the California fires and The Great Displacement
I spent a few days in Lake Placid over the holiday break, and while driving through the scenic roads, I wondered what would happen if the area experienced a massive wildfire. Can people evacuate quickly? Can neighboring fire stations get in? Are they doing anything now to mitigate the inevitable?
I know, I know… the area is not like California. But all you need is one foolish person to change all that. (I have a foolish person storytime to share at the end of this post)
After a quick search- YES, the Lake Placid area did experience a wildfire.
In April of 1903, a farmer near Lake Placid lost control of a brush-clearing fire. The drought and dry conditions they were experiencing at the time ignited a massive wildfire.
The fire lasted about six weeks and burned approximately 600,000 acres across the Adirondack and Catskill regions. The center of The Great Adirondack Fire was in Lake Placid, where it spread rapidly, covering areas including Schroon Lake, Lake George, Newcomb, and Saranac Lake.
The fire destroyed 14,000 acres in Lake Placid alone, killing every tree in the region.
If you’re wondering why I had worrying thoughts about fires while I was on vacation, lol, it was because I had just finished reading Jake Bittle's The Great Displacement.
The book highlights communities uprooted by rising sea levels, wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters in the U.S.
He shares stories of the aftermath of these disasters—the things we don’t hear about after an entire neighborhood is wiped off the map, like the scramble for housing between the rich and poor. Spoil alert: the rich win.
Wildfires probably frightened me the most of all the natural disasters mentioned in the book.
A haunting quote:
“Fires need to consume oxygen to continue burning, but by the time the blaze reached the Carrinos’ street it had sucked almost all the oxygen out of the air, draining the entire forest of combustible gas. There was still oxygen inside the homes, though, and as the fire ripped down the mountains it sought out this fuel. The flames rushed through the vents and air ducts of the Carrinos’ house and detonated the flammable gas inside, burning the home from in the insude our rather than vice versa.” -page 72, The Great Displacement, Jake Bittle
The author even talks about how insurers increasingly refuse to cover homes in wildfire zones, leaving homeowners stranded without options or forced to rely on expensive state-run insurance programs.
Pacific Palisades
The other day, I was scrolling on TikTok when someone went live to show a small fire up in the hills near their home in the Pacific Palisades area of California. I immediately picked up The Great Displacement book and had to check the index to see if the author had mentioned Pacific Palisades.
Nope, only the fire in Paradise, California.
A sense of dread came over me. I wondered if the person going live knew they would likely lose their home in a few hours.
Before TikTok gets banned, create an account if you don’t have one and start listening to the stories of those living through the fire right now.
Videos worth checking out:
Indigenous Women Speak on LA Fires
Treat it like Volcano Protocol
The Foolish Neighbor
A quick story time before I wrap up this post.
Just a few months ago, in November, the governor of New York issued a burn ban. I’ve never met anyone in my life go against a burn ban. But there’s a first for everything.
I ran into a friend who told me she was driving past my neighborhood when she saw a house with a HUGE fire pit going.
She didn’t feel right about it and called the police. Luckily, the police and fire trucks came quickly, and the fire pit was put out.
Shrubs, trees, and houses surround this particular house. My house, just around the corner.
Tiny embers travel, and that’s all it takes.
Since reading the book and coming to terms with the fact that people are naive about how wildfires can devastate entire communities, I’ve started to think about what I need to take in case we need to leave our home quickly.
Ok, that’s all I have for you today.
Read The Great Displacement, and if you’re a photographer- document where you live and the landscape.
Adios for now! -Pski
A subscriber shared the Ready Gov link. Thank you, John, for sharing! I forget it's there for us. They offer suggestions on how to build a kit for emergencies. https://www.ready.gov/kit