[3] The flames were first noticed by people attending a Knights of Pythias dance at the Johnson House Hotel.

[4] The fire department responded promptly, but strong northeast winds prevented them from halting the advance of the conflagration.

[5] The fire lasted from 10:30 P.M. to 3:30 A.M. the next morning,[4] and destroyed over 200 homes and buildings, including 10 blocks in the heart of the city of 4,000.

[8] A contemporary news account claimed local citizens found red cards with "You have no pity – we show no mercy" written on them in their yards the next morning.

The director of the Kittitas County Historical Museum says the list of possible causes for the fire includes "errant fireworks, insurance fraud, faulty electric lights, striking miners, vagrants displaced by the Seattle fire, disgruntled Native Americans, disgruntled Chinese, even a disgruntled circus that had tried and failed to set up their tent on the edge of town in the high winds that were blowing that day.