Half the Town Burned: The Great Wooldridge Fire of 2022 by Author LTC (ret) Tim Scherrer

The presentation gives the background of Wooldridge, Missouri and it’s historic decline. The fire burned half the town in ninety minutes. I present audio recordings of the participants and some of the illustrative videos that show the intensity of the fire. This was the largest fire that some of the most seasoned first responders in the state ever saw. They navigated these challenges of unprecedented situations never seen before in the Midwest.

It also tells the stories of the dozen residents, some of which escaped minutes before fire took their homes. It tracks their lives after the fire up to the one year anniversary. The village has rebuilt some structures in the community, but most struggle after losing everything. It highlights the issue of micro-disasters in the state.