What was the Redford Fire?

The Redford Fire was a devastating wildfire that scorched eastern Canada in the mid-1820s. This blaze was part of the larger and more infamous Miramichi Fire—one of the most extensive wildfires in North American history.

The Miramichi Fire erupted in 1825, fueled by an unusually dry summer and widespread slash-and-burn farming practices. In total, it consumed over 3 million acres of forest across New Brunswick and parts of Maine (then still part of Massachusetts).

While many areas saw the fire extinguished within weeks, the flames continued to smolder and spread underground near Redfort. There, the fire entered a then-unknown cave system, where it burned unseen for nearly two years, finally extinguishing in 1827.

The Redfort section of the fire remains a chilling reminder of how nature’s fury can linger long after the smoke clears.

How did the fire continue so long?

A previously undiscovered or at least unpublicized series of caverns under the valley area caught fire due to flammable dust build up. This allowed the fire to smolder and burn, carrying it much further than otherwise possible. The depth and width of the cavern, especially during the early 1800s made it impossible to put it out. 

To this day, only a few hundred yards of the cave system have been mapped as the area is complicated by in climate weather, complicated access and limited resources. It is believed that the fire could still continue to smolder deeper down, but without intense investigation this is not likely to be known.