 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (July 2018) |
54°56′14″N 40°33′28″E / 54.9372°N 40.5578°E
| Kursha-2 fire | |
|---|---|
 Memorial | |
| Date(s) | August 3, 1936 |
| Location | Kursha-2, Ryazan Oblast, RSFSR, USSR |
| Statistics | |
| Land use | Mixed, residential and forest |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 1,000+ (as high as over 1,200) |
Kursha-2 (Russian: Ку́рша-2), named so after a road sign, was an industrial community in the Central Meshchyora, Ryazan Oblast, Russia. It was built soon after the October Revolution for the exploitation of the local forests, and was annihilated by a firestorm on 3 August 1936. The disaster caused more than 1,000 human deaths, making it the second-deadliest wildfire in recorded history, behind only the Peshtigo fire of 1871.
A narrow-gauge railway ran from the Trans-Meshchyora trunk-railway to Kursha-2 and then extended to Lesomashinny and Charus. More than 1,000 lived in this woodcutters' settlement during the 1930s. Trains transported wood to Tumskaya (ru), where it was finished.