The Weather Channel Takes A Look At The Great Chicago Fire

By Marcus Gilmer in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 12, 2008 5:00PM

Earlier this week, we marked the 137th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire. Tonight, The Weather Channel's When Weather Changed History takes a closer look at the fire, including how the weather factored into the fire (heavily) and how Chicago recovered from the disaster. We got a chance this week to take a look at the episode and liked what we saw.

Interviewing many locals with knowledge on the topic, (City Historian Tim Samuelson, the Chicago History Museum's Sarah Marcus, and Chicago Weather Godfather Tom Skilling) the special tries its best to compact a lot of information into a 42 minute show (60 with commercials) and actually does pretty well. Starting at William Ogden's arrival from New York, the show moves forward and focuses on the unseasonably dry weather in the summer of 1871 that turned into the unseasonably dry fall of 1871. The show also explores the specific weather conditions that created winds that helped spread the fire in a fantastic manner. While the special probably offers nothing revelatory for fans of Chicago history, it still presents the info well and the focus on the weather is an angle that's not usually explored in such detail. Another interesting subplot of the show is its focus on the fire of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, a fire that burned simultaneously to the Chicago fire. Mixing re-enactments with file and archival photographs (perhaps the most interesting thing about the show), it's an engaging presentation.

After recapping the devastation, the show shift gears to focus on the recovery effort in the city. Led by Ogden and Marshall Field, the recovery effort lasted years and even led to the arrival of many of the city's heralded architects including Louis Sullivan. The show is worth checking out for, if nothing else, some of the archival photographs and the footage of a City Council meeting in the late 90's officially absolving Mrs. O'Leary (and her cow) of all blame in starting the fire. Ultimately the show is a great, succinct presentation of one of the biggest events in our city's history, using local historians and the victims' voices to tell the story.

The show airs tonight on The Weather Channel at 8 p.m.