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In July of 1911,
after two months of unseasonably high temperatures a number of smaller
fires converged into a giant conflagration. Fuelled by a dry virgin forest
and following an easterly direction, the fire swept through the area
engulfing the then isolated mining communities of the Porcupine Camp (Timmins,
Aura Lake & South Porcupine). The fire also brought with it additional
dangers: the intense heat alone caused building, timber and clothing to
combust, while high winds created by the sheer size of the fire reached
gale force speeds. One of the only places of refuge for the community's' residents was Porcupine Lake and the tiny creek that feed into it. Amidst the panic to reach safety and battling heat, wind and fire people and animals alike struggled to cross the lake to reach Pottsville or remained safely out of the fire's reach. The devastation caused by the fire was complete. The three communities were destroyed and 77 people were officially listed as dead, though the number of unrecorded deaths will never be known. One unexpected result was the creation of a fresh water spring, where a boxcar full of explosives blew up. First hand accounts of the event attest to the gravity of the situation... "... we could see the smoke and then it just seemed to be right on you before you knew anything about it. We kept getting reports about what it was like in South Porcupine - so many people losing there lives over there - well it drove them right into the lake... And a team of horses was drowned. And I knew of one man that I had seen on my way up when we were at Hills Landing. He lost his life going back to get his dog over in South Porcupine. M.C. Calvert 1974 Oral History Project
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