Prairie Fire

So many pioneer stories make reference to the much dreaded prairie fire.  In Nauvoo, there is a one acre lot of prairie grass right in the middle of Old Nauvoo.  The lot is planted with the grass to show the size of each property. Once a year the fire department burns the grass.  We happened to be in Nauvoo on the day!  

It is hard to describe the speed, the heat, and the intensity of the fire.  Now I finally understand the panic that pioneers would feel when they saw the flames on the prairie.