Heroism, legacy of 1910 fire recalled

WALLACE - 'Ghosts of Fires Past' could be felt in the strong wind making its way through the streets of Wallace on Saturday, catching in the clothes and hair of residents and visitors alike who gathered to commemorate the great 1910 Fire.

"Heroes were born, loved ones were lost and history was made," County Commissioner Jon Cantamessa said Saturday, summing up the impact of the 1910 fire.

People of all ages lined the streets of Wallace for the 1910 Fire Commemoration procession, with the emotive notes of bagpipes sounding off the start of the route through Wallace shortly after 11 a.m. Coeur d'Alene honor guard bearing the United States flag and the Idaho state flag protected by two shiny pulaskis led the procession, followed by representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, Coeur d'Alene Firefighters Pipes and Drums, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and Shoshone County Fire Districts.

The commemorative procession also featured horses and mules from the U.S. Forest Service Northern Region Pack Train and a variety of trucks and red fire engines.

Following the parade, commemoration organizers found themselves with a larger crowd than expected. Attendees spilled out from the 500 chairs set up in the Wallace Visitor's Center parking lot onto the surrounding lawn as Cantamessa took the stage to lead the 1910 Commemoration Ceremony.

Cantamessa noted that it is not customarily so windy in Wallace, but that it was fitting for that particular day, before introducing various dignitaries attending the ceremony.

"We have a vibrant community," Wallace Mayor Dick Vester said. "We owe a lot to the resilience and fortitude of the citizens and firefighters of that time."

Gov. Butch Otter made an appearance, stressing the importance of forest health projects and their ability to create new jobs, new energy and foster the growth of healthy forests.

"Our history is young, it's still forming, it's still taking shape," said "The Big Burn" author Timothy Egan. "This little valley is a monument to a very special time and extraordinary people."

He elaborated to say 1910 was the first time the entire nation had come together to fight fire as President William Taft deployed forces and resources to fight the "Big Blowup."

U.S. Forest Service Fire and Aviation Director Tom Harbour followed to say that "death and destruction had joined hands and visited Wallace" on Aug. 20 and 21 in 1910.

"I'm a Forest Service firefighter and I'm proud of what we do," Harbour declared. "In my biased estimation, we are the best wild land firefighters in the world."

With the Coeur d'Alene Firefighters Pipes and Drums providing a fitting background, the colors were posted and the new Firefighter Memorial was unveiled.

As a final tribute to wrap up the ceremony, three Idaho Department of Lands planes flew low over the hills to the north of Wallace and released red, white and blue water above the stark, green trees.

"It's sobering to reflect," said U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick after the ceremony. "It's also appropriate to comment on the fact that it was a catalyst to modern forestry, modern firefighting and recognizing that forest resources need to be managed, can be managed."

He added that 100 years later the Silver Valley is as productive and beautiful as it was before the 1910 Fire.

"It's a hopeful and an optimistic commemoration as well as a sober commemoration of loss and devastation."

Minnick added that active forest management is a win, win, win situation as it creates more jobs, establishes healthier forests and decreases the risks of catastrophic fires such of the magnitude of the 1910 Fire.

Forestry is an evolving science, and the good fire years followed by bad fire years can wreak havoc on the U.S. Forest Service's budget. Minnick said a bad fire year could force the U.S. Forest Service to borrow from the future and cripple its abilities in other areas for that year and succeeding years. Within Congress he said they are working hard for the U.S. Forest Service to have a dedicated and independently funded budget for firefighting.

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo added that an annual issue within Congress is congressional funding for firefighting. Congress never gives the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management enough funding so as to eliminate their need to route funding away from other projects during a heavy fire season, according to Crapo. He hopes that in the near future they will create a more robust budget for firefighting that is less dependent upon congressional changes.

"The beauty of life, the beauty of tomorrow, is that we can still make a happy ending to this story," Harbour stated poignantly during the ceremony, a fitting statement to set the tone for not only Saturday, but the next 100 years.