Historical Photo of Apgar Lookout Tower After Half Moon Fire, 1929

In 1929, mere months away from the stock market guttering and the dust bowl sending the United States into a depression, a large forest fire in Montana laid waste to 100,000 acres.  It was called the Half Moon Fire.  

It started when loggers east of Columbia Falls ran out of oil for their machines and turned instead to burning wood.  The wind caught an errant spark and carried it into the brush, and within a few days it had crossed several mountain ranges and a river. 

This photo shows the Apgar lookout tower standing undamaged even as the burnt husks of trees surround it.  

It's another potent reminder that the problems we face today are problems that our great-grandfathers had to meet with fewer resources, slower travel, and less advanced technology.  But they made it.  

And so will we. 

Zoom in close on the picture to inspect every detail!