The Cloquet/Moose Lake Fire – October 12, 1918 – Part I

When I first moved to The Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) from Cloquet, Minn., I was astonished that no one here had heard of the 1918 Cloquet/Moose Lake Fire. How was that possible? Everyone would ask, “Is that the same as the Hinckley Fire?” No, I would tell them. The Hinckley Fire was September 1, 1894; the Cloquet/Moose Lake Fire was October 12, 1918.

Growing up in Cloquet, everyone knew about the fire. There are memorials and a small park dedicated to the victims in Cloquet and a 1918 Fire Museum in Moose Lake. The fire played a huge role in both towns’ histories and, as it turns out, my family’s history. My paternal grandmother’s family survived the fire; 453 people did not.

Fauley Park
Highway 33 and Cloquet Avenue, Cloquet, Minn. 

Duluth & Northeastern Railroad Steam Locomotive Number 16

“This train is a reminder of the heroic train evacuations performed by Cloquet Union Depot Agent Lawrence Fauley who ordered trains from nearby train centers into town for the evacuation of our residents. This memorial serves to remind people of the 8,000 people ferried to safety as a result of his efforts.”¹

It is generally believed that a spark from a passing train is all it took to set everything in motion. The fire actually began burning grass and bog around 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, 1918, near Milepost 62 along the Great Northern railroad tracks just west of Brookston.² Several men tried to put it out over the next couple of days, but with little success; it would appear to go out, then spring back up again later.

The fall of 1918 had been very dry, and Saturday, Oct. 12th, was extremely windy.  The fire took advantage of the wind and began to travel across the land and through the air, lighting homes, barns and telephone and telegraph poles on fire; burning them from the top down.

Around 5 p.m., as a train carrying approximately 200 people fleeing from Brookston and the oncoming fire pulled into the Cloquet Depot,³ my great-grandfather William Jokela drove into town to get new shoes put on his horses.  Upon hearing from the Brookston train passengers about the rapidly moving fire heading towards Cloquet, he quickly turned his wagon around and drove back home.

Most of the people who died in this fire lived on farms outside of town, where there were no phones, no warning, and no escape. My grandma’s family was lucky. Because my great-grandfather knew the fire was coming, my grandma’s family survived by laying in the bottom of a shallow gravel pit on their farm, and pulling wet blankets over top of themselves.

Much as tornadoes are wont to do, the fire skipped some farms and devoured others. As noted in my September 15, 2012, blog on the Dawes Act, my great-grandfather’s farm was completely consumed, while their neighbor’s home and barn survived. The Jokelas moved in with their helpful neighbors until spring, when William could start building their new farmhouse.

I often wonder if my great-grandfather hadn’t known about the fire and taken action to save his family, would I be here today?

¹http://www.ci.cloquet.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B71F215BF-D1C2-4B8E-B0E4-C0187F39E916%7D

Carroll, Francis M. and Franklin R Raiter; The Fires of Autumn, The Cloquet-Moose Lake Disaster of 1918 (Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1990); p. 26,²; p. 30.³

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                                                            Fauley Park
                                  Highway 33 and Cloquet Avenue, Cloquet, Minn. 

Erected and dedicated to the courageous men, women & children who returned and rebuilt Cloquet after the disastrous fire of October 12, 1918 which completely destroyed the city.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain October 1, 2012, as long as acknowledgement included.  

                                October is Fire Prevention Month