1937 a lightning strike started the blackwater fire pictured in 08 18
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1937 89 years ago Selected Events August 18 3 sources

A lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire (pictured) in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, consuming 1,700 acres (7 km2) of old-growth forest and killing 15 firefighters.

On August 18, in the year 1937, A lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire (pictured) in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, consuming 1,700 acres (7 km2) of old-growth forest and killing 15 firefighters. This event is recorded as a Selected Events event in the history of August 18, one of 398 recorded events on this date across all of history.

On August 18, 1937, a lightning strike started the Blackwater Fire in Shoshone National Forest, approximately 35 miles (56 km) west of Cody, Wyoming, United States. Fifteen firefighters were killed by the forest fire when a dry weather front caused the winds to suddenly increase and change direction. The fire quickly spread into dense forest, creating spot fires that trapped some of the firefighters in a firestorm. Nine firefighters died during the fire and six more died shortly thereafter from severe burns and respiratory complications. Another 38 firefighters were injured. The fire killed more professional wildland firefighters in the U.S. than any other in the 103 years between the Great Fire of 1910 and the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on August 18, 1937 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Selected Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 3 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 1 July 2026.

On This Date in History 398

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 18 Ruth Johnson Colvin, American author and educator, founded ProLiteracy Worldwide (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 18 Alain Delon, French-Swiss actor (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2024 Aug 18 Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2023 Aug 18 Lolita, the second-oldest orca in captivity (born ca. 1966)
Notable Deaths 2023 Aug 18 Al Quie, American politician, 35th Governor of Minnesota (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2020 Aug 18 Ben Cross, English stage and film actor (born 1947)
Historical Events 2019 Aug 18 One hundred activists, officials, and other concerned citizens in Iceland hold a funeral for Okjökull glacier, which…
Notable Deaths 2018 Aug 18 Denis Edozie, Nigerian Supreme Court judge (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2018 Aug 18 Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1938)
Historical Events 2017 Aug 18 The Turku terror attack occurs in Finland when a knifeman kills two and injures eight.
Notable Deaths 2017 Aug 18 Bruce Forsyth, English television presenter and entertainer (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2017 Aug 18 Zoe Laskari, Greek actress and beauty pageant winner (born 1944)
Selected Events 2017 Aug 18 Two people were fatally stabbed and eight others wounded by a rejected asylum seeker in an Islamist terrorist attack…
Notable Deaths 2016 Aug 18 Ernst Nolte, German historian (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 18 Khaled al-Asaad, Syrian archaeologist and author (born 1932)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 18 Roger Smalley, English-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 18 Suvra Mukherjee, wife of Indian president Pranab Mukherjee (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 18 Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2015 Aug 18 Bud Yorkin, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 18 Gordon Faber, American soldier and politician, 39th Mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 18 Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 18 Levente Lengyel, Hungarian chess player (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2014 Aug 18 Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (born 1918)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 18 Josephine D'Angelo, American baseball player (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 18 Jean Kahn, French lawyer and activist (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2013 Aug 18 Albert Murray, American author and critic (born 1916)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 18 Harrison Begay, American painter (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 18 John Kovatch, American football player (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 18 Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1939)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 18 Ra. Ki. Rangarajan, Indian journalist and author (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2012 Aug 18 Jesse Robredo, Filipino public servant and politician, 23rd Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (born 1958)
Historical Events 2011 Aug 18 A terrorist attack on Israel's Highway 12 near the Egyptian border kills 16 and injures 40.
Notable Deaths 2010 Aug 18 Hal Connolly, American hammer thrower and coach (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2010 Aug 18 Benjamin Kaplan, American scholar and jurist (born 1911)
Notable Deaths 2009 Aug 18 Kim Dae-jung, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 15th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2009 Aug 18 Rose Friedman, Ukrainian-American economist and author (born 1910)
Notable Deaths 2009 Aug 18 Robert Novak, American journalist and author (born 1931)
Historical Events 2008 Aug 18 The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, resigns under threat of impeachment.
Historical Events 2008 Aug 18 War of Afghanistan: The Uzbin Valley ambush occurs.
Selected Events 2008 Aug 18 Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf resigned under pressure from a movement to impeach him.
Notable Deaths 2007 Aug 18 Michael Deaver, American soldier and politician, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2007 Aug 18 Magdalen Nabb, English author (born 1947)
Notable Births 2006 Aug 18 Summer McIntosh, Canadian swimmer
Notable Deaths 2006 Aug 18 Fernand Gignac, French Canadian singer and actor (born 1934).
Notable Deaths 2006 Aug 18 Ken Kearney, Australian rugby player (born 1924)
Historical Events 2005 Aug 18 A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java; affecting almost 100 million people, it is one of the…
Notable Deaths 2005 Aug 18 Chri$ Ca$h, American wrestler (born 1982)
Notable Deaths 2004 Aug 18 Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2004 Aug 18 Hiram Fong, American soldier and politician (born 1906)
Historical Events 2003 Aug 18 One-year-old Zachary Turner is murdered in Newfoundland by his mother, who was awarded custody despite facing trial…

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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