 At the close of the Finnish War in 1809 the Russian army under Barclay de Tolly took Umeå and held it from June to August.In 1874 the town improved the plans for its structure after it became a government requirement.Umeå had already started making these changes when on 25 June 1888, a fire devastated the eastern parts of Umeå and at least 2,300 of the 3,000 inhabitants became homeless.