LARAMIE - 1948

On April 14, 1948, fire leveled a downtown block in Laramie, Wyoming, and at the height of the blaze the flames were visible for miles.

 
Here's how the Associated Press covered it:

A fast spreading fire crackled through an entire business block early today in the downtown section of Laramie, site of the University of Wyoming.

Fifteen of 30 structures were unofficially reported destroyed by flames.

Discovered about 2 o'clock (MST) this morning, the flames were reported under control but not out three hours after they were discovered in the four-story brick W. H. Holliday Building.

Fire departments sped to Laramie from Cheyenne, Rawlins and Fort Francis E. Warren, in Wyoming, and Fort Collins, Colo., to help overwhelmed Laramie firemen and volunteers battle the blaze.

Troops from Fort Warren, 50 miles east of here at Cheyenne, National Guard members and Wyoming University ROTC students were pressed into service to prevent looting.

There were no early reports of casualties. Fifteen or 20 families lived in hotels in the flaming area. The Red Cross arranged to house them in a university.