Features | American Experience | Official Site

The Big Burn | Clip

Beyond the Doc: Wildfires

In 1910, a wildfire burned an area the size of Connecticut and killed at least 78 firefighters in just 36 hours.

The Big Burn | Clip

Gifford Pinchot's Vision

At the turn of the 20th century, Gifford Pinchot was the nation's preeminent forester.

The Big Burn | Clip

Fire as the Enemy

Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot saw fighting forest fires as being essential to the new Forest Service's mission.

The Big Burn | Clip

The Heroes of the Big Burn

After the Big Burn, Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot publicizes the selfless actions of the fire fighters who lost their lives in the blaze.

The Big Burn | Clip

America's Timber

In the early 1900s, President Theodore Roosevelt worried that unless America's forests were protected and regulated, the nation's forests would soon disappear.

The Big Burn | Clip

"Hire Everybody You Can Find"

In the summer of 1910, the Forest Service had less than 500 rangers nationwide.

The Big Burn | Chapter

The Big Burn: Chapter 1

Watch Chapter 1 of The Big Burn.

The Big Burn | Article

What's a Pulaski?

The Pulaski was created in the years just following the 1910 Big Burn by U.S. Forest Service Ranger Ed Pulaski, and it continues to be used by wildland firefighters to this day.