In the Woods: Battle Creek Boom Town

Looking at a hundred or so tents, a dozen porta-potties and several rows of tables in what had been merely a sagebrush meadow just a few days before, it’s not hard to imagine the rise (and fall) of the mining and logging boom towns in the late 1880s. Each year across the U.S., dozens of modern “fire camps” sprout in pastures, fields and school lawns in response to wild fires. The larger ones usually include showers, tool caches, a covered eating area, laundry service, medical assistance (mostly blisters!), a payroll and claims department, and sometimes, a commissary. Except for the l...

 

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