Anyone who experienced the May 23, 1977 fire in Cobalt, will never forget it. The heat, the wind, and the incredible mass of flames, will never be erased from memory.
Don Curry was there, in his role as editor of the Temiskaming Speaker and correspondent for The Globe and Mail. His photographs were published in The Globe, Toronto Star, and newspapers across Canada through Canadian Press. His stories were printed in three editions of The Globe and Mail that day and in The Speaker two days later.
His book, Fire, Cobalt: May 23, 1977 was originally published by the Highway Book Shop, and 1,000 copies sold quickly. There was a second printing, but Curry can’t recall how many were printed. It has been out of print for decades, until now.
No one died in the fire, but 459 residents were left homeless, despite the valiant efforts by residents and firefighters from seven fire departments. About 20 per cent of the town was destroyed. The fire this summer in Jasper, Alberta, destroyed approximately 30 per cent of the town.
Deborah Ranchuk of Cobalt’s White Mountain Publications wanted to re-publish the book and contacted Curry, who has lived in North Bay since 1978. The new edition has additional photos and an index of the many local names referenced in the book.
“I am surprised as anyone that the book is available once again,” Curry said. “My daughter-in-law, Mary Curry, who has the same name as my Kirkland Lake wife of 51 years, was browsing my office bookshelves while visiting from Brockville. She spotted my only copy of the book and asked where she could get one.
“You can’t. It’s out of print,” he told her.
“Mary likes a challenge and when she got home, she started investigating and found a few people willing to part with their copies,” Curry said. “She also contacted Deborah Ranchuk, who told her she had customers asking about the book. With my email address provided by Mary, Deborah contacted me and asked if I was interested in having the book resurrected. I was on board immediately.”
The book has a new cover, by Deborah Ranchuk, and is expanded to 110 pages with 59 photos, graphics, and a map of the fire area. It sells for $29.95 and is available at the Cobalt store or online at wmpub.ca The author is donating his share of the proceeds to the Cobalt Historical Society.
The book was the first to reveal the cause of the fire; a careless smoker, not children, as had been a rampant rumour.
It details the pivotal role of Cobalt’s mayor, the late Bruce Lonsdale, during and after the fire, and countless firefighters and water bomber pilots who fought the blaze. It reveals the OPP investigation of the cause, and how the mystery was solved.
It discusses fundraising and rebuilding efforts in the immediate aftermath of the fire, and how the mayor took charge. It is based on the author’s observations during the fire, eyewitness accounts from more than 30 people, Temiskaming Speaker, Northern Daily News and North Bay Nugget accounts, and official OPP, fire department and Ministry of Natural Resources reports. Photographs are by Curry, Northern Daily News, North Bay Nugget, and Cobalt residents.
May 23, 1977, was the Monday Victoria Day holiday, and by 11 a.m. it was already 27 degrees. Three weeks of hot weather had given Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources firefighting crews an early start on a busy forest fire season. About 10 fires were burning in the district on May 23, with the largest one near Temagami.
By noon on May 23, winds at the Earlton Airport weather station were registering 20 miles per hour, with gusts to 27, or more than 43 kilometres per hour.
As the title of chapter one says, it was a perfect day for a fire.
Prior to becoming the editor of The Speaker Curry was city editor of the daily Peterborough Examiner, a reporter at the Northern Daily News in Kirkland Lake, a sports reporter for the Ottawa Citizen, a business reporter for The Financial Examiner in Vancouver, and a sports editor of The Carleton, Carleton University’s student newspaper.
He began sending stories to The Globe and Mail while working in Kirkland Lake and continued through his time at The Speaker. He was editor of The Speaker from 1975 to 1978, leaving to teach journalism at Canadore College in North Bay. He is now an immigration consultant and immigration columnist for BayToday.ca
His son, Bill, born in New Liskeard, is Deputy Ottawa Bureau Chief for The Globe and Mail. His son, Christopher, born in North Bay, is a Clinical Manager, Professional Practice and Education, with Lanark Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health in Brockville.
For further information contact Don Curry at [email protected] or Deborah Ranchuk at [email protected]
