Neolithic Shamanism: Spirit Work in the Norse Tradition - Raven Kaldera 2012

Fire
Appendix

Under a Flaming Sky: The Great Hinkley Firestorm of 1894, by Daniel James Brown

In the days when the Hinkley Fire occurred, fire was a constant summer companion in many parts of the United States. Haze from hundreds or even thousands of small fires scented the air and fouled laundry hung out to dry. People were complacent. As the forests of Minnesota were logged and harvested, “fire management” was still a distant concept and the refuse left behind from the logging process cluttered the forest floor for thousands of square miles, drying in the summer Sun or even being lit ablaze by locals eager to dispose of the debris as quickly as possible.

On September 1, 1894, two forest fires met at Hinkley, Minnesota, and merged into a true firestorm. With hurricane-force winds driven by the engine of combustion and glowing balls of incandescent gas spat out by the advancing fire’s front, this blaze was unlike any even remotely contemplated. Moving at a rapid rate, the firestorm obliterated Hinkley and several surrounding towns. Some lived, many died, and many more were horribly burned. Brown eloquently describes the circumstances that led to the firestorm, as well as the physical effects of fire on humans and their works, not to mention the effects on the land. Students would do well to keep these thoughts and images in the back of their minds when sitting in front of a “tame” candle flame or spinning poi. Under a Flaming Sky helps prevent students from losing sight of the dangerous power that all fire possesses.