During October 1871, Chicago burned to the ground.
On the same day many other cities around Lake Michigan and Lake Huron burned. Most notable was Peshtigo, Wisconsin where thousands of people died. More than 1.5 million acres burned in those fires.
CO2 was at very safe levels in 1871.
http://news.google.com/newspapers
Who loaded the dice for that? I guess the same climate experts who loaded the dice for an inactive fire season during the past summer.
Off topic slightly, I saw a bumper sticker today that read “Strip mining prevents forest fires.”