KAXE's Tuesday Morning Show strives to take an in-depth look at natural resource-based issues important to Northern Minnesota. Producer Mark Jacobs and hosts Heidi Holtan and John Latimer discuss the problems and highlight some creative solutions.
With wildfires burning in Northern Minnesota, kicking off one of the more active fire seasons in recent memory, we take a look back at the worst natural disaster in the state's history not too far from the current blazes.
On the KAXE Morning Show, author and historian Curt Brown joined Heidi Holtan, John Latimer and producer Mark Jacobs to share the harrowing story of the Cloquet-Moose Lake fire of 1918, a catastrophe that’s often overshadowed by the more widely known 1894 Hinckley fire.
The blaze ignited near Brookston, fueled by wind and dry timber. While the railroads were blamed — their steam engines often threw sparks without proper screens — Brown noted they also rescued over 5,000 people, evacuating entire towns in boxcars.
The fire spread across 1,500 square miles, touching places like Cloquet, Moose Lake, Kettle River, Floodwood and near Duluth. In towns like Otumba and McGregor, people fled in trucks, trains and on foot. Some made it. Many didn’t.
Brown uncovered many stories, including one of the most heart-wrenching of 17-year-old Allie Luppa. She narrowly survived but suffered lifelong injuries. In a moment of exhaustion and disorientation while seeing the fire on the horizon, Luppa mistook a fallen friend’s body for a place to rest.
Minnesota 1918: When Flu, Fire and War Ravaged the State weaves together the convergence of the three calamities. Brown said not only do people not know the history of the events, we haven't learned much from them.
Listen to the full conversation above.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
