We are shocked and heartbroken over the devastation caused by the California wildfires in and around Los Angeles County. Our thoughts are with the firefighters working so tirelessly and selflessly to extinguish the flames, and with all those who have lost loved ones, their homes, and irreplaceable possessions.
In this post, we’ll be using some hidden gems from our Legal Classics and World Constitutions Illustrated databases to explore some of the worst and most devastating fires to have burned throughout history—and see how people and places have recovered after total destruction. Trying to manage your screentime as part of your New Year resolutions? Hit the headphone icon to listen to the audio version of this post.
1. Great Fire of Rome
When: July 19–27, 64 AD
Where: Rome, Italy
Cause: Disputed
Death Toll: Unknown
The Great Fire of Rome started on a hot summer’s night among the shops and slums surrounding the Circus Maximus,[1]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading a massive chariot-racing stadium that could hold more than 150,000 spectators. Fueled by Rome’s overcrowding, the fire rapidly spread into heavily populated neighborhoods and into the city center. It burned uncontrolled for six days and, when it seemed at last that the flames were under control, reignited and raged for another three days.[2]Ernest Renan; Charles Beard, Translator. Lectures on the Influence of the Institutions, Thought and Culture of Rome, on Christianity and the Development of the Catholic Church (4). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Religion and the … Continue reading When the flames were finally extinguished, three of Rome’s districts were completely leveled,[3]Noah Charney, “In Flames”, 26 J. ART CRIME 81 (2021). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. and only four of the city’s 14 districts emerged from the ashes largely unscathed.
The Great Fire occurred during Emperor Nero’s reign, but Nero wasn’t in Rome when the city went up in flames. He was spending the summer at his villa in Antium[4]Joanne B. Ciulla, Being There: Why Leaders Should Not “Fiddle” While Rome Burns, 40 PRESIDENTIAL STUD. Q. 38 (March 2010). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. on the coast. He returned to Rome when informed that the fire threatened to destroy his mansion in the city[5]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading—not to save it, but to watch it be consumed by the flames.
Legend records that when Nero arrived in Rome, he played his lyre[6]Ernest Renan; Charles Beard, Translator. Lectures on the Influence of the Institutions, Thought and Culture of Rome, on Christianity and the Development of the Catholic Church (4). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Religion and the … Continue reading and sang “The Sack of Illium” as the city burned, swept up in “the sublime horror of the spectacle.”[7]Ernest Renan; Charles Beard, Translator. Lectures on the Influence of the Institutions, Thought and Culture of Rome, on Christianity and the Development of the Catholic Church (4). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Religion and the … Continue reading
The exact cause of the Great Fire of Rome is unknown, although Romans at the time assigned blame to Nero himself, claiming he deliberately ordered the city torched; the Roman historian Tacitus,[8]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading who lived through the fire, claimed Nero wanted to raze Rome to rebuild it in his own vision.[9]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading In the fire’s aftermath, Nero did build a luxurious palace, the “Golden House,”[10]Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. and new parks in fire-ravaged parts of the city. Adding weight to this theory are claims that while Rome burned, soldiers and watchmen impeded firefighting efforts and deliberately demolished unburnt buildings[11]Ernest Renan; Charles Beard, Translator. Lectures on the Influence of the Institutions, Thought and Culture of Rome, on Christianity and the Development of the Catholic Church (4). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Religion and the … Continue reading —although they may have done so to try and create a firebreak. Nero blamed members of a new up and coming religion—Christians—for starting the fire,[12]Tenney Frank. History of Rome (1923). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. and had hundreds of Christians tortured and executed in retaliation.

2. Great Fire of London
When: September 2–6, 1666
Where: London, England
Cause: Spark from a bread oven
Death Toll: 6
Shortly after midnight on September 2, a fire started in Thomas Farynor’s bakery[13]John Somers Somers. Fourth Collection of Scarce and Valuable Tracts (1751). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. in Pudding Lane, a narrow street near London Bridge. The fire likely started from a spark in an improperly extinguished bread oven. The flames trapped the family upstairs, but they were able to escape out a window to the next door house; their maid, however, was not so lucky, and died in the fire.
Around 3am, the diarist Samuel Pepys[14]Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. observed the fire from his home, but, thinking it was far enough away to be of no danger, went back to sleep. Several hours later, the fire was blazing through the city, and Pepys ascended the Tower of London to better watch its destruction. The flames were swiftly running through London’s dangerously narrow and overcrowded streets, their spread aided by a gale-force wind blowing from the east, which scattered fiery sparks onto thatched roofs.[15]Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated.
Pepys descended from the Tower of London and cruised the Thames in a boat to watch the fire’s progress. He came upon King Charles II doing the same, and implored the King to order the Lord Mayor of London to have houses peremptorily demolished to create a firebreak. The King agreed with Pepys, and ordered him to relay the message to the Lord Mayor. When Pepys told the Lord Mayor the King’s message, the Lord Mayor replied, “Lord! what can I do? I am spent. People will not obey me.”[16]Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated.
The diarist John Evelyn[17]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading also recorded his experience of the Great Fire, and watched as the flames reached St. Paul’s Cathedral,[18]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading licking up the wooden scaffolding that encircled the great church for repairs, melting its lead roof, and reducing it to rubble. When the fire reached the River Thames, it quickly churned through warehouses filled with tar, oil, coal, and wood. Charles II put his brother, the Duke of York, in charge of fire suppression efforts, but the fire was moving too quickly for any of them to have effect.
God grant my eyes may never behold the like, now seeing above ten thousand houses all in one flame; the noise, and cracking, and thunder of the impetuous flames, the shrieking of women and children, the hurry of people, the fall of towers, houses, and churches was like a hideous storm, and the air all about so hot and inflamed that at last one was not able to approach it; so that they were forced to stand still and let the flames burn on, which they did for near two miles in length and one in breadth. The clouds of smoke were dismal, and reached, upon computation, near fifty miles in length. Thus I left it this afternoon burning, a resemblance of Sodom or the last day. London was, but is no more!
Some relief finally came on September 5th,[19]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading when the east wind that had been feeding the fire finally abated. Evelyn records how the wind’s cessation revived people’s spirits, and firefighting efforts redoubled and finally had an effect, preventing the fire from reaching the Tower of London and Parliament, which housed tons of gunpowder.
The Great Fire destroyed two-thirds of London:[20]Leopold von Ranke. History of England Principally in the Seventeenth Century (1875). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. 400 streets, 13,000 houses, and 89 churches were consumed by the flames. In its immediate aftermath, rumors swirled that the fire had been deliberately set by Catholics or foreigners. Robert Hubert,[21]John Somers Somers. Fourth Collection of Scarce and Valuable Tracts (1751). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. a French watchmaker, falsely confessed to deliberately starting the fire, and was executed that October; doubts about the veracity of his confession at the time did not spare him from the hangman’s noose. For what it’s worth, Thomas Farynor—who owned the bakery where the fire started—staunchly maintained the fire was not started by accident.[22]John Somers Somers. Fourth Collection of Scarce and Valuable Tracts (1751). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated.
4. Burning of Moscow
When: September 14–18, 1812
Where: Moscow, Russia
Cause: Arson
Death Toll: Unknown
After marching 600 miles,[23]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading Napoleon and his army had arrived in Moscow. Waiting at the city walls, he found the city eerily quiet,[24]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading given it was supposed to be home to some 250,000 people.[25]J. Christopher Herold. Age of Napoleon (1963). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. Napoleon waited for the keys to the city and its official surrender,[26]J. Christopher Herold. Age of Napoleon (1963). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. but it never arrived. Entering the city at nightfall, Napoleon saw it had been completely deserted.
That night, as Napoleon took up residence inside the Kremlin,[27]Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. fires ignited in various parts of the city. They were likely set by Moscow’s governor, Count Fyodor Rostopchin, who, ahead of Napoleon’s arrival, ordered troops and civilians to abandon Moscow, and for the city’s prisons to be emptied.[28]William Milligan Sloane. Life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1896). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. In a final act of defiance, Rostopchin torched his own home,[29]Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most … Continue reading and the burning of Moscow began.
By the next day, September 15, those isolated fires had grown into an inferno. Fanned by mercilessly fierce winds,[30]Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. by the morning of the 16th the fire threatened to consume the Kremlin, forcing Napoleon to abandon the czars’ ancient palace and decamp to Petrovski Palace[31]J. Christopher Herold. Age of Napoleon (1963). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. outside the city limits. When the fires finally burned out two days later, three-fourths of Moscow had been destroyed.
The burning of Moscow is generally regarded by historians today as a “scorched earth” tactic by the Russians in response to Napoleon’s invasion. It effectively left the French without shelter or provisions in Moscow ahead of the approaching winter. Napoleon himself was deeply disturbed by the Russians’ willingness to destroy their own city rather than let it be occupied by the French. On September 20, Napoleon wrote to Emperor Alexander I of Russia, “How is it possible to destroy one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the labors of centuries for so small an aim?”[32]J. Christopher Herold. Age of Napoleon (1963). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. Alexander did not respond to Napoleon’s letter.
4. The Great Chicago Fire
When: October 8–10, 1871
Where: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Cause: Unknown
Death Toll: 300 (estimated)
Like so many of the fires on this list, Chicago’s fiery destruction in 1871 was exacerbated by a conspiracy of weather conditions. After a long, hot summer that saw Chicago parched by drought, a small fire started on the evening of October 8. Popular legend tells us the fire was incited when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern[33]George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. in a barn, but the exact cause of the fire has never been determined. Whatever the fuse, the fire did start near the O’Leary family’s barn[34]Richard F. Bales, Title Insurance Records and the Great Chicago Fire, 18 PROB. & PROP. 46 (January/February 2004). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. on DeKoven Street in the city’s west side. What might have been a manageable fire was stoked into an inferno by a gale-force wind[35]George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. that swept the flames through the neighborhoods’ barns and sheds.
As the fire ripped through the city, people hoped the conflagration would naturally be stopped when it reached the Chicago River. As it neared the river, the fire was fed by piles of lumber and the mills on the waterfront,[36]George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. sending flames hundreds of feet into the air. The unrelenting wind carried sparks across the river, where the inferno spread and destroyed the city’s waterworks,[37]George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. rendering firefighters’ efforts fruitless. Thus unimpeded, the fire continued to spread through Chicago’s business district and North Side.[38]Homer Hoyt. One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago: The Relationship of the Growth of Chicago to the Rise in Its Land Values, 1830-1933 (1933). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History.

When the fire finally burned itself out at the south end of Lincoln Park, it had destroyed 17,450 of the city’s 60,000 buildings and made one-third of its population homeless.[39]Homer Hoyt. One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago: The Relationship of the Growth of Chicago to the Rise in Its Land Values, 1830-1933 (1933). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. The total damage was assessed at $200 million in 1871 dollars, or approximately $5.7 billion in 2024 dollars.
In the fire’s immediate aftermath, Mayor Roswell B. Mason declared martial law[40]George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. and placed the city under the command of General Philip H. Sheridan.[41]Philip Henry Sheridan. Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan: General United States Army (1888). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. The city was still smoldering when relief aid began arriving from around the country and the world; an estimated $3 million[42]George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. was sent in donations to the city. Amongst these donations were thousands of books, which later formed the foundation for the new Chicago Public Library.[43]155 CALL BULL. 1 (1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library.
5. The Peshtigo Fire
When: October 8, 1871
Where: Peshtigo, Wisconsin, United States
Cause: Disputed; often attributed to embers from slash-and-burn land management
Death Toll: 1,500
On the same day that Chicago burned, 250 miles away in the small mill town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, another holocaust blazed. The summer of 1871[44]Henry Colin Campbell. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905 (1906). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. had seen a long drought throughout the Midwest, which turned the region into a tinderbox.
Smaller fires burned throughout the timberland around Peshtigo in the days before October 8. In the dense Wisconsin forests, fires were not uncommon. Lumberjacks and railroad crews used fires to clear debris from areas they were working in, and farmers burned stumps to prepare land for plowing. Drought conditions did not stop fire from being used in land management. The drought also meant that wells were dry and water was in short supply. Smoke hung thick and heavy in the air and “flakes of ashes from the smouldering timbers fell in the streets like a snowstorm.”[45]Henry Colin Campbell. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905 (1906). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. Just like in Chicago, a strong wind whipped the flames, stoking them higher and hotter. What started as small, separate fires grew and converged into a major conflagration that blazed towards Peshtigo.
When the fire reached Peshtigo, it was so hot and moving so fast that firefighting was impossible. While we usually associate fire with our senses of smell and touch, Peshtigo’s residents heard the fire coming, likening the sound to “the approach of a railroad train—to the roar of a waterfall, to the sound of a battle, with artillery, going on at a distance.”[46]Henry Colin Campbell. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905 (1906). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. The treetops of the towering old growth forest burned, whirlwinds of flame churning through the air like a waterspout of fire.[47]Henry Colin Campbell. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905 (1906). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. The entire town of Peshtigo, except for one building,[48]Henry Colin Campbell. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905 (1906). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. burned to the ground in an hour.[49]42 Cong. Globe 544 (1872). This document is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents. When the flames were finally extinguished, more than 3.7 million acres had been burned and 1,500 people had been killed[50]Lincoln Bramwell, The Looming Fire Problem in the East, 18 PENN ST. ENVTL. L. REV. 177 (Winter 2010). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. throughout Wisconsin and Michigan, making it the deadliest fire in U.S. history.[51]167 Cong. Rec. E1019 (09/24/2021). This document is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents.
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Humans—and cities—are remarkably resilient, and have for centuries adopted phoenix-like qualities in the aftermath of great conflagrations. While the current California wildfires’ ending remains unwritten, no doubt the Golden State will shine brightly once again. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and make sure you subscribe to the HeinOnline Blog, and keep on top of tips and tricks, new product announcements, and posts like this that explore stories from history that help make sense of our world today.
HeinOnline Sources[+]
↑1, ↑5, ↑8, ↑9, ↑17, ↑18, ↑19, ↑23, ↑24, ↑29 | Charles F. Horne; et al. Great Events by Famous Historians: A Comprehensive and Readable Account of the World’s History, Emphasizing the More Important Events, and Presenting These as Complete Narratives in the Master-Words of the Most Eminent Historians (1905). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Legal Classics. |
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↑2, ↑6, ↑7, ↑11 | Ernest Renan; Charles Beard, Translator. Lectures on the Influence of the Institutions, Thought and Culture of Rome, on Christianity and the Development of the Catholic Church (4). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Religion and the Law. |
↑3 | Noah Charney, “In Flames”, 26 J. ART CRIME 81 (2021). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. |
↑4 | Joanne B. Ciulla, Being There: Why Leaders Should Not “Fiddle” While Rome Burns, 40 PRESIDENTIAL STUD. Q. 38 (March 2010). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. |
↑10, ↑14, ↑15, ↑16, ↑27, ↑30 | Henry Smith Williams. Historians’ History of the World (1904). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑12 | Tenney Frank. History of Rome (1923). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑13, ↑21, ↑22 | John Somers Somers. Fourth Collection of Scarce and Valuable Tracts (1751). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑20 | Leopold von Ranke. History of England Principally in the Seventeenth Century (1875). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑25, ↑26, ↑31 | J. Christopher Herold. Age of Napoleon (1963). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑28 | William Milligan Sloane. Life of Napoleon Bonaparte (1896). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑32 | J. Christopher Herold. Age of Napoleon (1963). This book is found in HeinOnline’s World Constitutions Illustrated. |
↑33, ↑35 | George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. |
↑34 | Richard F. Bales, Title Insurance Records and the Great Chicago Fire, 18 PROB. & PROP. 46 (January/February 2004). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. |
↑36, ↑37, ↑40, ↑42 | George W. Smith. History of Illinois and Her People (1927). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. |
↑38, ↑39 | Homer Hoyt. One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago: The Relationship of the Growth of Chicago to the Rise in Its Land Values, 1830-1933 (1933). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. |
↑41 | Philip Henry Sheridan. Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan: General United States Army (1888). This book is found in HeinOnline’s Spinelli’s Law Library Reference Shelf. |
↑43 | 155 CALL BULL. 1 (1995). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. |
↑44, ↑45, ↑46, ↑47, ↑48 | Henry Colin Campbell. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905 (1906). This book is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Political & Legal History. |
↑49 | 42 Cong. Globe 544 (1872). This document is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents. |
↑50 | Lincoln Bramwell, The Looming Fire Problem in the East, 18 PENN ST. ENVTL. L. REV. 177 (Winter 2010). This article is found in HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library. |
↑51 | 167 Cong. Rec. E1019 (09/24/2021). This document is found in HeinOnline’s U.S. Congressional Documents. |