On the evening of October 8, 1871, a small fire started in a barn on Decovin Street on Chicago's south side.

The barn owners, the O'Leary family, desperately tried to get

ahead of the blaze, but they couldn't contain it. Chicago was experiencing the perfect recipe for a

fire disaster, hot, dry, windy conditions. In a time where nearly all the buildings were made from wood,

and they were crammed tightly together with little to no thought of the worst-case scenario, the worst-case scenario happened.

High winds drove the fire to neighboring buildings.

Flames tore through the city's business districts on the north side and east side.

The inferno only subsided when a rainstorm hit the city

two days later. By that time, the disaster, which would be known as the Great Chicago Fire,

had consumed more than four square miles of the city. The fire destroyed nearly 18,000 buildings,

and left a third of the city's population without homes.

It killed roughly 300 people, though some believe the real number was far higher.

It is still the most destructive city fire in American history. The only fire which destroyed

more property than the Great Chicago Fire was the now infamous

campfire of 2018, though most people don't remember the official name of the fire.

It's better known as the fire which leveled much of the small town of Paradise, California,

as well as neighboring communities like Magalia and Kongkow.

But that fire started as a wildfire in the hills several miles from the towns.

The Great Chicago Fire started right in the middle of the city.

And where most people saw grief over the tragedy,

land speculators and contractors saw opportunity.

Chicago rebuilt with astonishing speed.

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