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MPR News Staff

Photos: Aftermath of the 1918 Cloquet-Moose Lake wildfire

1918 wildfire
The remains of a neighborhood of burned-out homes -- reduced to debris-filled basements -- are seen after a wildfire swept through Cloquet, Minn., on Oct. 12, 1918. This view is looking north toward the Masonic Temple and Washington School. The Cloquet-Moose Lake fire devastated those two communities among others in northeastern Minnesota, including parts of Duluth, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands homeless.
Courtesy Carlton County Historical Society, www.carltoncountyhistory.org

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Massive wildfires that swept across northeastern Minnesota in October 1918 destroyed Cloquet, Moose Lake and several other communities, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands homeless.

Photographers chronicled the aftermath — ruined neighborhoods, burned-out shells of buildings, vehicles abandoned along roadsides and mass burials of the victims.

Gallery
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Emergency shelter
The Duluth Armory served as an emergency shelter during the massive wildfire that burned through Cloquet and near Duluth in 1918, killing more than 400 people. Many people in the photo are wearing face masks to try to protect themselves from the flu pandemic.
Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections, Kathryn A. Martin Library, University of Minnesota Duluth
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1918 wildfire
The remains of a neighborhood of burned-out homes -- reduced to debris-filled basements -- are seen after a wildfire swept through Cloquet, Minn., on Oct. 12, 1918. This view is looking north toward the Masonic Temple and Washington School. The Cloquet-Moose Lake fire devastated those two communities among others in northeastern Minnesota, including parts of Duluth, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands homeless.
Courtesy Carlton County Historical Society, www.carltoncountyhistory.org
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1918 wildfire
The burned-out shell of Cloquet High School is seen after the massive October 1918 wildfire. The wildfires also destroyed Moose Lake and surrounding communities, and reached as far as some neighborhoods of Duluth.
Courtesy Carlton County Historical Society, www.carltoncountyhistory.org