DID YOU KNOW…how they put out the fire?
Crested Butte’s second major fire started in the morning on January 9, 1893. Quickly burning out of control, the fire was gaining the upper hand. The firemen, having found the water lines froze, decided to take their stand at A. E. Miller Furniture Store…with dynamite!
Now, the fire had consumed pretty much everything on the south side of Elk, from Second Street to Third. Adam Miller’s Furniture Store was located on the south side of Elk Ave, across the street from Teocalli Tamale. The firemen, some of them being miners and having a fair knowledge of explosives, aimed their charge to the west toward the fire.
Using some 150 pounds of dynamite, they leveled Adam’s store, put out the fire, and blew a sizeable hole into the side of the Old Town Hall, about a block and a half away. Needless to say, there weren’t many panes of glass left in Crested Butte on that cold January day.
Written by: Rob Quint
