August 24, 1922, Tonopah, Nevada. In less than an hour, a fast moving fire driven by 50 mile an hour winds tore through three blocks of downtown. When it was over, the damage totaled roughly $100,000, a staggering loss for a mining town already used to hard knocks.
This image shows how quickly everything could change in places like Tonopah. Fire was always close, always waiting, and when it came, there was little anyone could do but watch and rebuild once again.
Image courtesy of the University of Nevada, Reno, Special Collections.
