57-500: The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 began just after noon on 21 May 1917 in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, Georgia . It is unclear just how the fire started, but it was fueled by hot temperatures and strong winds which propelled the fire. The fire, which burned for nearly 10 hours, destroyed 300 acres (120 ha) and 1,900 structures displacing over 10,000 people. Damages were estimated at $ 5 million, ($ 100 million in 2024). It
114-541: A "black area" according to the City. The "black area" in 1957 also added North Ave. and Kennesaw Ave. along its northern edge. By 1963, four additional blocks along the western edge between Piedmont and Courtland had become a black residential area. At this point, all but a few blocks of today's Old Fourth Ward were black residential areas. Then in the 1960s, Buttermilk Bottom , was razed to make way for urban redevelopment projects and rechristened "Bedford Pine". However, most of
171-400: A "white area" according to the City. There was also a black "island" within the northeastern quarter on the site of today's Historic Fourth Ward Park Retention Pond. By 1957, the black residential area had expanded eastwards four blocks, into the area bounded by Parkway on the west, North Ave. on the north, Glen Iris Dr. on the east, and East Ave. on the south. Thus, all of Boulevard was now
228-659: A patchwork of whites living as close neighbors with blacks. The Ward was home to the spectrum of races but also socioeconomic classes: the foremost thoroughfare in today's Old Fourth Ward, Boulevard , was in the 1890s called one of the most desirable residential streets in the city, even as the Buttermilk Bottom slum festered less than half a mile west. However, after the Great Atlanta fire of 1917 , Boulevard's grand houses were destroyed and replaced by brick apartment buildings. As with most of Intown Atlanta ,
285-468: A sample of more than 3,000 structures that burned in a known accidental fire. A group of fire investigators surveyed the residences and looked for artifacts that would normally be considered "suspicious," such as melted metals, spalled concrete and crazed glass. A careful study of 50 of the homes revealed that most of them contained artifacts that would be considered evidence of arson had they been found in an isolated fire that burned to completion. The study
342-513: A separate recognized neighborhood called Sweet Auburn . The neighborhood can be divided into three areas, with Freedom Parkway and Boulevard serving as dividing lines. The area north of Freedom Parkway and east of Boulevard is home to the 2.1 million sq. ft. Ponce City Market , a mixed-use development , and Historic Fourth Ward Park , a product of the BeltLine project. In the 2010s, many new multi-family developments have been built bordering
399-462: A small warehouse just north of Decatur Street between Fort and Hilliard, and the crew sent to inspect it found a stack of burning mattresses, but had no firefighting equipment with them. If the fire department had not been spread across so many different parts of the city already, the fire would have been put out there. By the time reinforcements arrived, it was quickly leaping north. The fire spread quickly up to Edgewood Avenue and from there throughout
456-409: A steady decline. The road is lined with apartment buildings constructed after the Great Atlanta fire of 1917 , most of which are now section 8 housing . Boulevard became infamous throughout Atlanta and beyond as a haven of drug activity, prostitution, and other crime, a reputation that endured into the 2010s, despite gentrification to the north, south, east and west of the street. Gentrification of
513-473: Is an intown neighborhood on the eastside of Atlanta , Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site . The Old Fourth Ward's borders: The exception is the area west of Boulevard and south of Freedom Parkway which, although historically part of Atlanta's Fourth Ward (see Atlanta annexations and wards ), is considered
570-635: Is now the Old Fourth Ward is a smaller version of the historic Fourth Ward political area in place until the 1950s when the city changed to a district system. It is one of the oldest sections of the city, with the westernmost blocks developing soon after the Civil War. Different parts of the ward were, at different times, considered white, black, or mixed-race areas. From the 1910s onward, as Atlanta politicians moved to institutionalize racially segregated residential areas, Old Fourth Ward continued as
627-680: Is the Tunnel Fire . It is also commonly referred to as the Oakland Hills firestorm or the East Bay Hills fire . The fire ultimately killed 25 people and injured 150 others. The 1,520 acres (620 ha) destroyed included 2,843 single-family dwellings and 437 apartment and condominium units. The economic loss from the fire was estimated at $ 1.5 billion ($ 2.99 billion in 2023 dollars ). The fire started on Saturday, October 19, from an incompletely extinguished grass fire in
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#1732765857266684-469: Is today the Old Fourth Ward had been a black residential area since the late 19th or early 20th century. The black residential area between downtown Atlanta and Bedford Place (now Central Park Place) was called Buttermilk Bottom , and to its south was the black business and residential district of Sweet Auburn . To the east of Sweet Auburn, Boulevard south of what is today the AMC remained a white street through
741-731: The Berkeley Hills , northeast of the intersection of California State Routes 24 and 13 (0.5 mi (0.8 km) north of the Caldecott Tunnel west portal. Firefighters fought the 5-acre (2.0 ha) fire on a steep hillside above 7151 Buckingham Boulevard, and by Saturday night believed it to be under control. The fire re-ignited as a brush fire shortly before 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 20, and rapidly spread southwest, driven by wind gusts up to 65 mi (100 km) per hour. It quickly overwhelmed local and regional firefighting resources. By 11:30 a.m.,
798-509: The Georgia Power headquarters, and public housing projects. Bedford Pine was officially absorbed into the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, whose boundaries officially extend west to Piedmont Avenue. Boulevard itself, in the 1890s described as "one of the most desirable residence streets in the city," has for decades been notorious citywide as a center of crime and drug activity, as well as the highest concentration of Section 8 housing in
855-464: The 1910s. However the side streets became increasingly black, due to black Atlantans moving eastwards, seeking to consolidate their businesses and residences into safe, primarily black areas after the Atlanta race riot of 1906. On Boulevard itself, Morris Brown College has been founded in 1885 at the intersection of Boulevard and Houston St. (now John Wesley Dobbs Ave.) and in 1922 expanded, acquiring
912-612: The 2000s). Low-income housing developments were built in the destroyed extreme southern section and the areas south of North Avenue . Some 50 acres (200,000 m) around Boulevard and Highland were eventually developed as the campus for Atlanta Medical Center. Except for where single family homes were quickly rebuilt north of Ponce de Leon, the character of this large area of Atlanta was changed forever. The next U.S. fire of more significance wouldn't occur for more than 70 years: The Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991. Old Fourth Ward The Old Fourth Ward , often abbreviated O4W ,
969-428: The 3-inch (76 mm) outlets previously used by Oakland were considerably more efficient. Water cisterns and a new hills fire station were added, and radio communications were improved. On June 12, 2008, a brush fire ignited in almost the exact location of the starting point of the 1991 fire, but owing to a rapid response, the preventive measures implemented after the 1991 disaster, and the lack of significant winds,
1026-525: The Naval Air Station itself sent its own firefighting equipment and material to the scene of the fire. The next morning, before full control had been gained, satellite photographs, especially infrared (heat-sensing) photographs, were provided with the help of NASA Ames Research Center 's Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) to aid firefighters in plotting the extent of the fire and spotting hidden hot spots. In terms of alarm assignments, it
1083-682: The Oakland Fire Department made requests, and when the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection was asked to mobilize air tanker support to the fire zone. Eventually the California Department of Forestry (CDF) was asked to dispatch several air tankers , which doused the fire with tons of fire retardant all day long. The CDF established a base at the Naval Air Station in Alameda . Additionally,
1140-475: The Old Fourth Ward began in the 1980s, and continued at a more rapid pace during the first decade of the 2000s. New apartment and condo complexes with ground-floor retail sprung up, particularly along the BeltLine , Ponce de Leon Avenue, North Avenue, and Highland Avenue. The area, which remains majority black, has seen a huge influx of whites in recent decades. The trend began in the 1980s, and from 1980 to 2000,
1197-491: The Old Fourth Ward (from the MLK Memorial eastwards) to an overwhelmingly black residential area. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the City of Atlanta was still highly segregated, and as part of city planning, the City still concerned itself with designating certain neighborhoods for white or black residential use. A City map from that era shows, that in 1951, the black residential area in today's Old Fourth Ward consisted of
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#17327658572661254-488: The Old Fourth Ward declined precipitously during the 1950s and 1960s as wealthier residents moved further out from central neighborhoods. Streets, houses and businesses that sat upon the land that is now Freedom Parkway were also razed to make way for a freeway that was never built . What was once a consistent and dense grid pattern of streets is now difficult to recognize, with Freedom Parkway occupying what had once been multiple city blocks. Boulevard in particular witnessed
1311-558: The Old Fourth Ward. Several examples of street art in the Old Fourth Ward are found on the Atlanta Street Art Map . The MARTA Green Line runs east-west at the south end of the neighborhood, although there is no station in O4W itself. King Memorial station is to the west and Inman Park / Reynoldstown station is to the east. The Atlanta Streetcar line starts just west of the neighborhood. Several MARTA bus lines serve
1368-599: The Southeastern United States. However, in January 2012, City Councilman Kwanza Hall revealed a seven-point "Year of Boulevard" strategy to revitalize the corridor. The largest concentration of single family homes are found south of Freedom Parkway, especially south of Irwin Street, and the area is perhaps the most eclectic part of O4W. Auburn Avenue and Old Wheat Streets are in character extensions of
1425-405: The area were crowded with parked cars, including many in front of fire hydrants; this prevented fire trucks and ambulances from getting to certain areas and connecting fire hoses. The general situation was one of chaos and panic among residents in the area. The most important factor was the rapid spread of the wind-driven fire. Before most of the firefighting resources could be brought to the scene,
1482-539: The area west of Boulevard went from 12% to 30% white and the area east of Boulevard went from 2% to 20% white. Total 2010 population of the Old Fourth Ward is 10,505. For census tracts 17 and 29, which cover the area south of North Ave., west of the BeltLine, north of Edgewood Ave., and east of Jackson/Parkway (thus including Boulevard), the racial mix has changed as shown: Source: 2000 and 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File accessed on US Census Bureau "U.S. Census website" site Most of what
1539-455: The area west of Parkway and everything south of (but not including) North Ave., as well as the area east of Parkway south of East Ave. The western border of the "black area" jogged from Piedmont to Courtland, roughly the same as the western border of today's Old Fourth Ward. Thus, the black residential area corresponded to all but the northeastern quarter of today's Old Fourth Ward, but did not include Boulevard north of today's AMC , which remained
1596-477: The bay into San Francisco . Ash fell onto the field of Candlestick Park where the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers were playing during that afternoon. The CBS telecast of the game also showed live footage of the fire. As with the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake two years earlier, the blimp shots from the national sports media provided many people with first word of the disaster. By mid-afternoon,
1653-593: The buildings and houses were spared. The hot, dry northeasterly winds, dubbed as " Diablo winds " in reference to the Diablo mountain range , Diablo Valley , and surrounding geography of same name, periodically occur during the early fall season. These are similar to the Santa Ana winds in Southern California, and have been the cause of numerous devastating fires. The fire began generating its own wind,
1710-494: The defining characteristic of a firestorm . The superheated fire-driven winds combined with warmer, drier air east of the Berkeley Hills, and interacted with the ambient cooler, more moist Bay/Coastal air to create erratic, dangerous gusts, which helped produce numerous rotational vortices. All of these combined to help spread the fire, tossing embers in all directions. The wind was so strong that it also blew debris across
1767-503: The destroyed portions of Edgewood and Auburn where busy streetcar routes ran: 17 and 3 respectively. Where large estates with spacious front yards had been, along the entire stretch of Boulevard up to Ponce, dozens of two- and three-storey apartment buildings that hugged the sidewalk were built. Large open spaces were left at what is now the King Memorial and at Bedford-Pine Park, now named Central Park (host of Music Midtown in
Great Atlanta fire of 1917 - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-449: The efforts undertaken by CARD (Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters) after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, to build a nonprofit preparedness infrastructure, were key to addressing the needs of vulnerable communities. In response to issues about firefighting equipment during the disaster, Oakland city firefighters now carry more extensive wildland firefighting gear and fire shelters. Prior to and during this firestorm, when this
1881-456: The fire had established a large perimeter. At the fire's peak, it destroyed one house every 11 seconds. By the first hour, the fire had destroyed nearly 790 structures. In addition to the winds and the heat, an important factor in the rapid spread of the fire was that it started in an area that was at an interface between developed and undeveloped land. Many of the first dwellings to burn were surrounded by thick, dry vegetation . In addition,
1938-557: The fire had spread to the nearby Parkwoods Apartments located next to the Caldecott Tunnel. Shortly before noon, the fire had been blown up to the top of Hiller Highlands to the west, from where it began its sweep down into the Hiller Highlands development and the southern hills of Berkeley . Burning embers from houses and vegetation were carried ahead of the fire line by torrid winds and started new blazes ahead of
1995-462: The fire slowly marched house by house toward the evacuated hotel. The fire was stopped shortly before it reached the hotel. By 5:00 p.m., the winds died down, giving firefighters a chance to control the blaze, though full containment would not be achieved until October 22. As many as 400 engine companies, 1,500 personnel, and 250 agencies worked to put out the fire. By Wednesday, October 23, at 8:00 a.m.,
2052-462: The fire was confined to 2 acres (0.81 ha), with no damage to any structures, and was extinguished within 90 minutes. In 2015, a $ 4 million federal grant to prevent fires in the Oakland Hills ignited debate over whether to cut down trees in the region. The city and its fire department say clearing young eucalyptus trees and other non-native plants would deter another deadly firestorm like
2109-496: The fire was declared under control, almost 72 hours after it started. The fire's rapid rate of spread and massively-destructive nature sparked renewed recognition of the dangers posed by wildland-urban interface fires in major cities, and spurred research and investigation into improved prevention and suppression of such fires. Several nonprofit groups arose after the fire. One, the Hills Emergency Forum,
2166-436: The fire was still being stopped on the east by Boulevard (just sparing John Wesley Dobbs ' block). When the fire reached Highland, it raced both east and west through many fine homes. Around 4:00 in the afternoon, fire-fighters had begun to stall the fire by using dynamite to destroy many homes along Pine, Boulevard and finally Ponce de Leon. By nightfall the fire crossed Ponce de Leon. While reduced, it headed north through
2223-546: The historic African-American business and residential district, Sweet Auburn , and of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site . The Ward’s primary nightlife district is centered on the intersection of Boulevard and Edgewood Avenue, where there is a concentration of bars and restaurants. The eastern border is the BeltLine Eastside Trail , lined with repurposed industrial buildings such as Studioplex, now used for residential and retail use. What
2280-535: The land at the southeast corner of Boulevard and Irwin St. (The college later moved to its present location at the Atlanta University Center ). From then on through the 1940s many of the fine homes on the south end of Boulevard began to be purchased by prominent African-American "doctors, bishops, ministers [and]...attorneys", thus completing the consolidation of what is now the southeastern quarter of
2337-429: The land remained empty until the mid-1980s when new residential communities were built on the land, with a mix of incomes and races. Thus the western end of today's Old Fourth Ward became racially diverse. Two of the city's iconic walking and biking trails intersect in the neighborhood: Historic Fourth Ward Park and Skate Park opened in phases starting in 2011 and includes an attractive retention pond. The area around
Great Atlanta fire of 1917 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-426: The main residential areas of Sweet Auburn , sparing little. The area between Decatur and Edgewood was crammed with shanties and lean-tos, which provided fuel for the fire to grow very strong and move fast through the area. A corridor was burned due north between Jackson (now Parkway and Charles Allen ) and Boulevard , with a few prominent bulges at Highland and just south of Ponce de Leon Avenue. At Houston Street,
2451-419: The nearby undeveloped land had even more dry brush. Other factors included many wood shake/shingle roofs which were easily ignited by embers, and the use of wood chip mulch in landscaping around buildings, which was blown around spreading embers and igniting vegetation across streets. The same conditions contributed to a major conflagration nearby in the 1923 Berkeley fire and a more limited conflagration in
2508-418: The neighborhood. Relay provides bike share . Oakland Hills firestorm The Oakland firestorm of 1991 was a large suburban wildland–urban interface conflagration that occurred on the hillsides of northern Oakland, California , and southeastern Berkeley over the weekend of October 19–20, 1991, before being brought under full control on October 23. The official name of this incident by Cal Fire
2565-493: The one that whipped through the hills in 1991. One of the most famous victims who lost his house in the disaster was game designer Will Wright , who lived a few blocks away from where the fire started. He used his experience of rebuilding his life as the basis for the concept of the Maxis computer game series The Sims , and added the city's recovery from the fire as a scenario in the game SimCity 2000 . The fire provided
2622-522: The original burn. Within thirty minutes the fire had crossed both Highway 24 (an eight-lane freeway) and Highway 13 (a four-lane freeway), eventually igniting hundreds of houses in the Forest Park neighborhood on the northwest edge of the Montclair district and in the upper Rockridge neighborhood . The fire eventually touched the edge of Piedmont , burning some municipal property, but
2679-551: The park has since mushroomed with large apartment buildings. Other parks include: The Old Fourth Ward is one of Atlanta's best neighborhoods for viewing street art. Some of the best locations to view street art in the Old Fourth Ward include Decatur St., Edgewood Ave. and on and around the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline . The Outerspace Project is responsible for bringing many works of street art to
2736-491: The park, including BOHO4W, AMLI Ponce Park, and 755 North. The BeltLine Eastside Trail is the eastern border of this area. The area west of Boulevard and north of Freedom Parkway was once called Bedford Pine , and, prior to the 1960s, it was a slum called Buttermilk Bottom . In the 1960s, slum housing gave way to massive urban renewal and the construction of large projects, such as the Atlanta Civic Center ,
2793-629: The recently built-out neighborhood along St. Charles, Vedado Way and Greenwood Avenue. It finally stopped at 10 PM, more than 1 mile (1.6 km) north of where it began. In eleven hours, 22,000,000 US gallons (83,000,000 L; 18,000,000 imp gal) of water were pumped to put out the fire. Additional fire trucks had been sent from nine Georgia towns (as far away as Macon and Augusta ), as well as from Chattanooga and Knoxville in Tennessee . 1,938 buildings were destroyed over 300 acres (1.2 km) spanning 73 city blocks. Fires smoldered for
2850-415: The rest of the week. Since more than 85% of the destroyed buildings had wood shingles , the city quickly passed an ordinance banning them for new construction. By 1931 all older buildings had replaced the wood shingles. In the history of the city, only Sherman 's fire of 1864 did more extensive damage. Rebuilding was sporadic, with large swaths kept open for years. Commercial strips were quickly built on
2907-473: The same area on September 22, 1970, again under similar conditions. A smaller fire also started in Wildcat Canyon on December 14, 1980. As night descended, the firestorm threatened to destroy the historic Claremont Resort hotel, where the media had gathered to report on the fire. Television crews trained their cameras on the dark hill immediately behind the hotel and millions watched as
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#17327658572662964-503: The wind had slowed and shifted to the west, driving the fire to the southeast. At about 9:00 p.m., the wind abruptly stopped, giving firefighters a chance to contain the fire. Assistance from firefighting agencies as far north as the Oregon state line, as far south as Bakersfield and as far east as the Nevada state line were delayed initially. Official reports differ between when
3021-433: The wrong size outlets for the hoses used by neighboring counties. Oakland was also not able to communicate with many mutual aid resources due to antiquated equipment and lack of access to statewide radio frequencies brought on by the budget restrictions in the preceding years. In some areas, firefighters simply ran out of water, as there was no power to refill the emptied reservoirs. Additionally, many narrow, winding roads in
3078-549: Was a clear, warm and sunny day with a brisk breeze from the south. This was not the only fire of the day, but the fourth call in the span of an hour: a small fire at the Candler Warehouse at 11:39 AM and at 11:43 a fire seven blocks north that destroyed three houses; and at 12:15, south of the Georgia Railroad from the big fire, ten homes were destroyed before being extinguished. At 12:46 a call came from
3135-619: Was created by local fire agencies to build consensus on fire safety standards and codes, offer multi-jurisdictional training, and coordinate fuel reduction strategies, as well as other goals. At least two citizen groups also arose, the North Hills Phoenix Association and the Claremont Canyon Conservancy to participate in policy decisions and provide educational and stewardship services at the wildland–urban interface . The fire validated that
3192-451: Was not standard equipment, firefighters were sometimes forced to don turn-outs which greatly hampered their ability to move quickly and stay cooler during a wildland fire. Fire hydrants now have the industry standard 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 inch outlets throughout the city. The lack of a standard in 1991 caused numerous difficulties for various agencies who attempted to connect to non-standard hydrants, even though
3249-485: Was the equivalent of a 107-alarm fire . For a variety of reasons, the firefighting teams were initially overwhelmed by the firestorm. The winds were gusting at times in excess of 70 mph (110 km/h), creating erratic and extreme fire behavior. Flames took out power lines to seventeen pumping stations in the Oakland water system. Outside fire teams faced various equipment compatibility issues such as hydrants having
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