From a SPCR press release:
A program on one of Wyoming’s most disastrous forest fires will be held at the Wyoming State Museum when Karl Brauneis presents, “Wyoming’s Great Forest Fire Tragedy: The Blackwater Fire of 1937.”
The presentation, a part of the Wyoming State Museum’s lecture series, is scheduled for 7 p.m., March 11. The lecture is free and open to the public.
On August 21, 1937 the Blackwater Fire “blew up” west of Cody, trapping several companies of firefighters along the lines. Fifteen firefighters would die in the blaze making it Wyoming's worst forest fire tragedy. Who were the men who fought the fire? How did they engage the blaze and what factors led to the "blow up"? Come to hear and see of their trial by fire and how the Blackwater changed the way many fires are fought today.
The Wyoming State Museum is located in the Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue in Cheyenne. For more information about this and other State Museum programs, please call 777-7022.
