One of the hardships that pioneers faced was prairie fires. Most of the prairie fires started in the autumn when the prairie grasses were dried out from the summer heat.

The fires either started because of lightning striking the dry grass during a lightning storm or from campfires that weren't watched or from careless workers that burned the grass after clearing the land to plant crops. It was up to the pioneer to clear his own land to plant his crops. If the wind was very strong and in the wrong direction it could start the pioneers' homes on fire.

Sometimes the fires might come up to the pioneer's log cabin. If the people didn't get out in time, they could die in the fire or because of the smoke. If the pioneers lived in a sod house, that usually didn't burn down like a log cabin would. The wood burned easier than sod.

If the pioneer lost all of his crops and his home, the family would have to build another house. The pioneer didn't have his crops for food or for selling to get other things that the family needed, so it was very hard on the pioneer family to live after this kind of hardship.