Plans Under Way to Remember 1916 Georgia Fire

A group of residents in Augusta, Ga., is beginning to discuss how to commemorate the upcoming centennial of one of the city’s most devastating events.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that March 2016 will mark 100 years since 25 blocks of residential and commercial buildings went up in flames.

An unattended iron in a tailor shop sparked the blaze that swept through downtown Augusta on a gusty night in March 1916. What had been the business district and more affluent section of town was reduced to a forest of chimneys and charred rubble. About 3,000 people were left homeless and damages totaled more than $10 million. No one was killed.

Now, 100 years later, a group of residents met this week to begin planning for the centennial.