Every Generation Imagines

“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”

? George Orwell

The 1825 Miramichi fire burned more than two million acres in nine hours.

19 Sep 1908 – Historic Forest Fires. – Trove

In 1851, most of Victoria burned in just a few hours.

17 Jan 1857 – BLACK THURSDAY. – Trove

In 1871, two million acres of Wisconsin burned in just a few hours.

PRAIRIES IN FLAMES. – One Hundred and Fifty Miles Swept by Fire–Men, Women and Children Fleeing for Their Lives–Immense Loss of Property of all Kinds. Several Towns Destroyed–Great Damage Occasioned–Loss of Life. – View Article – NYTimes.com

During February 1898, three million acres of South Carolina burned in just a few hours.

Wildland Fire: History Timeline | U.S. National Park Service

In 1910, three million acres of Idaho and Montana burned in just a few hours.

The 1910 Fires – Forest History Society

In 1939, most of the forest land in Victoria burned in just a few hours.

19 Jan 1939 – The Bushfire Peril. – Trove

“Almost certainly we are moving into an age of totalitarian dictatorships – an age in which freedom of thought will be at first a deadly sin and later on a meaningless abstraction. The autonomous individual is going to be stamped out of existence.”

– George Orwell  1939