The useless bits of info to see if we can make a million posts thread

[cAstAgeAr]

However, the Chicago fire was the second-biggest of October 8, 1871. On that same evening, at almost the same hour as the O'Leary's barn went up, a forest fire of unimaginable intensity erupted near the lumber-milling town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, about 220 miles to the north. Flamed by the same wind that had spread the Chicago blaze, it flowed through the treetops so fast that it was useless to try to fight it or even run away. In ten minutes, half of Peshtigo and its residents were incinerated. Some saved themselves by jumping into the Peshtigo River. Those who were overtaken by the flames were quickly reduced to heaps of ashes. Although the damage was estimated at only 5 million dollars, the death toll was much higher -- around 1,200 to 1,500 and 2,000 square miles (or 1.3 million acres) were devastated.