WEHS members recall the ‘51 Forks Fire

October 10, 2024 1:30 am
Newspaper clipping from The Seattle Times, Sept. 21, 1951. The Maxwells that Verlain spoke about hosing down some of their lost property.
Newspaper clipping from The Seattle Times, Sept. 21, 1951. The Maxwells that Verlain spoke about hosing down some of their lost property.

The Great Forks Fire of 1951 was a forest fire that burned nearly 38,000 acres in the Olympic National Forest near the community of Forks, on Sept. 20, 1951. The fire started near Camp Creek around 3 a.m., likely caused by sparks from a logging train. The fire burned 32,668 acres, including virgin timber, plantations, ranch lands, and logged-off land as well as logging equipment, some businesses, and some homes.

At the Sept. 17 meeting of the West End Historical Society(WEHS), many who were children at the time shared their memories.

Tom Rosmond was seven years old at the time and he recalled looking northeast and seeing the fire, “Cinders were falling like snow,” Tom shared. “The evacuation was going on and my Dad was a Navy veteran and knew the Quillayute Air Base Officer in Command. We went out to stay overnight at the base on the Quillayute Prairie,” Tom added.

Richard Halverson was six years old and remembered his family loading up everything they could and driving to Chehalis.

Verlain Sackett said his Dad had used his logging company crew bus to help evacuate people. “Flames were shooting over the area that is now Tillicum Park,” Verlain said. He recalled at Maxwell’s Cabins (near where Sully’s is today) the fire burned the cabins but the Maxwells saved their home. Then the wind changed and the fire died out. The main part of town was spared.

Adria Fuhrman remembered seeing the embers and the “feeling” in the air. Birdie James was a senior in high school in Montesano, “I remember my dad almost didn’t make it home!”

“The impact of the fire had a profound impact on the area,” Tom said, adding that the salvage of the burnt timber brought a huge influx of logging companies and laborers and led to the “Boom” the town experienced in the years after.

“I remember seeing a photo of Hyas Creek,” Verlain said, “everything was burned.”

Tom added that all the streams in the area were greatly affected.

The next WEHS meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at noon at the Congregational Church on Spartan Avenue. A slide show of the WEHS photo collection will be shared. Lunch is available for purchase for $8. Everyone is welcome.