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After the Great Fire, Chicago Republican (now defunct) reporter Michael Ahern published a claim that the fire had started when a cow kicked over a lantern while it was being milked. The owner was not named, but Catherine O'Leary soon was identified, because the fire had begun in her family's barn. [2] Illustrations and caricatures soon appeared ...
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly 3.3 square miles (9 km 2) of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless. [3]
The NWS also issued a red-flag warning for the Chicago area on Tuesday, saying in an advisory, "Critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly."
The fire eventually stopped after burning itself out, which was helped by rain that had started on the night of October 9. The fire killed around 300 people, burned 2,112 acres, and cost $222 million. The fire would spur Chicago and many other cities to enact new building codes to help prevent fires from breaking out and spreading as far. [15]
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The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started in the barn behind the cottage of Patrick and Catherine O'Leary at 137 (after 1909, 558) DeKoven Street. [2] Although the popular story is that a cow kicked over a lantern to start the fire, Michael Ahern, the Chicago Republican reporter who created the cow story, admitted in 1893 that he had made it up because he thought it would make colorful copy. [3]
144 years ago, the Great Fire of Chicago took over the city, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.