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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 29 |
| 1877 | 15 |
| 1878 | 15 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 6 |
| 1882 | 8 |
| 1883 | 42 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 41 |
| 1886 | 34 |
| 1887 | 16 |
| 1888 | 12 |
| 1889 | 96 |
| 1890 | 10 |
| 1891 | 32 |
| 1892 | 111 |
| 1893 | 117 |
| 1894 | 100 |
| 1895 | 83 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 5 |
| 1899 | 24 |
| 1900 | 4 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 29 |
| 1904 | 29 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 15 |
| 1909 | 56 |
| 1910 | 6 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 10 |
| 1915 | 19 |
| 1916 | 15 |
| 1917 | 8 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 9 |
| 1924 | 8 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
1,048 stories matching burn
- The Sky Turned to Smoke: Forest Fires Choke Puget Sound
Fires across Whatcom, Skagit and the Olympic Mountains destroyed bridges, barns and a shingle mill, derailed a Great Northern train and left Puget Sound under a suffocating haze.
- Four Sections Burn Along the Pend Oreille
A week-long blaze near Ruby Creek is finally checked, leaving ranchers, timber and a county bridge in ashes—and one firefighter carried ten miles to safety.
- The Social Siege of Miss Alioa Burns
A young Seattle resident is expelled from a Tacoma club dance, sparking a standoff and a threat of legal retribution.
- The Poor Man's Stump Burner: Newport Farmers Pack Kelly's Hall
In 1909, 150 farmers crowded a Newport hall to hear a state expert explain how to clear land by charring stumps—a low-cost method that promised to open Pend Oreille County fields.
- The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf
A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.
- The Rockets Turned Around: Tacoma's Fourth of July Went Up in a Sheet of Flame
A spark touched off the entire $500 pyrotechnic stock at Wright Park, driving rockets and bombs into a crowd of thousands and leaving women and children burned, trampled and briefly lost in the smoke.
- A Ring, a Resignation and a Democratic Landslide in Seattle
Mayor-elect Ronald insists the sweeping Democratic victory was no party triumph but a popular revolt against boss rule, a pliant police chief and corrupt registration.
- Smoke So Thick You Could Not See a Block: The August the Sound Went Dark
Forest and peat fires from Lynden to Wilkeson filled Puget Sound with smoke in late August 1894. Seattle's weather observer promised rain within thirty-six hours, and Whatcom County counted its losses.
- The Night Ballard Almost Burned
A kerosene lamp in a candy store touched off a blaze that leapt across Ballard Avenue—then the town’s water gave out just as the business district caught.
- Bellingham Bay Burned While Puget Sound Choked on Smoke
Forest fires from the British border to the Olympic Mountains sent a pall over Seattle, slowed steamers and trains, and destroyed homes, a bridge and a thirty-room mansion near Whatcom.
- The Messenger Burned at Tacoma—and It Was No Accident
A pioneer Puget Sound steamer was destroyed by a suspected arson fire; its engineer nearly chose a razor over burning alive.
- Suspicious Fire at Standard Oil Plant
A locked gate was forced open and three horses perished in a midnight blaze that local authorities believe was no accident.
- Tacoma's Suspicious Fires—and a Fire Department That Couldn't Get Water
A wave of blazes on E Street and beyond leaves homes in ashes, a hose driver suspended, an alarm delayed, and the fire chief convinced tramps set the occupied houses alight.
- The Tight-Fisted Legend of Snohomish
John Burns, a legendary pioneer of Snohomish, lives in a humble shack while owning half the town’s main street.
- A Brothel Fire, a Woman Thrown From a Window, and a Logger Burned to Death
A 5 a.m. blaze in Aberdeen killed one man and fatally injured a woman; a survivor jumped naked through flames to the street.
- A Backyard Tragedy in Ballard
A young girl is severely burned while playing near a rubbish fire during spring cleaning.
- Young Daughter Rescues Father from Burning Brush
A Sumner man falls into a fire while clearing brush, only to be pulled to safety by his two young daughters.
- The Mother Who Ran Through Burning Oil
A lamp explosion trapped two boys in a Whatcom kitchen; their mother rushed through flames to save them and was badly burned.
- Under Fire on the Way to Spokane: Seattle's Militia Rode Into a Rail War
Col. Joseph Green's detachment returns from Spokane after escorting a mutinied company through burned bridges, ambushes and striker country—and the city turns out to cheer.
- A Wall of Smoke and Flame Across Puget Sound
Forest fires from Hood Canal to the Nooksack Valley left dozens of families homeless in 1894, while smoke turned steamboat travel blind and daily life in Seattle into a gray haze.
- A Gold-Headed Cane for the Man Who Stayed on the Phone in a Burning Mine
Newcastle honored C.C. Anderson, who kept giving orders to trapped miners as the roof burned above him.
- The Great Burn of 1885: A Summer of Ash and Loss
While Seattle sweltered, the timberlands north of the city were consumed by an unprecedented wildfire season, leaving behind a trail of homelessness, tragedy, and destruction.
- The Hotel Arson Scandal
A bitter divorce case in Gilman turns into a criminal conspiracy mystery after a wife testifies her husband plotted to burn down their own hotel for insurance money.
- The Arsonist's Confession: 'He Wanted Me to Burn It'
A Tacoma man details his coerced participation in the Aurora Hotel fire, revealing a plot by property owner Ed Williams to collect insurance money.
- The Body in the Hen House: An Unidentified Murder Near Eagle Harbor
A well-dressed stranger was found half-burned in an abandoned Kitsap County farmhouse, with only spectacles, a corkscrew, and a torn newspaper to say who he was.
Also about this, in other words
- The Hidden Hazard of the Woods
A toddler suffers horrific burns after falling into a camouflaged pit of smoldering rot.
- A Painful Pipe-Lighting Mishap
A local man suffers severe burns after gasoline residue on his hands ignites.
- A Desperate Act at Chimacum
A local laborer, facing destitution, ends his life in a violent explosion that rocks a small settlement.
- The Fire That Paid Its Bills
A local grocery firm thanks their insurance agent for a prompt payout after Jackson Street burns down.
- A Desperate Call for Skin Grafts
After a lamp explosion leaves a Walla Walla woman severely burned, the community is urged to donate skin to save her life.
- The Fire That Paid the Bills: A Grocery Owner’s Gratitude
In the chaotic early days of Seattle, a local grocery firm received a full cash payout from an insurance company after their Jackson Street store burned down—a rare moment of financial relief in a city prone to disaster.
- A Child’s Hazard in a Smoky City
A young girl is severely burned after stepping into a smoldering coal bunker in Belltown, highlighting the dangerous urban conditions of a rapidly growing Seattle.
- A Debt Paid in Full
A Kennewick church celebrates financial independence by burning their mortgage document in a ceremonial act.