On Wednesday, March 30, 1977 one of the largest disasters to hit Lyons occurred when a massive fire completely destroyed the historic four-story Paaske Furniture building at 65 Main Ave.
The strong winds spread the fire onto the adjoining Potts Jewelry Store at 71 Main Ave. That historic building also was destroyed.
Assistant Fire Chief Cliff Peters told the Clinton Herald the next day that he had never seen a fire like that before. “The heat was terrible, the wind was terrible, and we didn’t have enough men, hoses, or anything.” Peters had no official estimate of damage but thought it could be millions of dollars.
Peters said the fire started on the top floor. The wind was from the south. “We had so much heat that windows were exploding across the street.”
Clinton weather records show the sustained wind speed that day was 35 mph, with wind gusts up to 55 mph.