Evening journal., 1889-06-08
ONE CENT.
SEATTLE'S BIG FIRE.
Thirty-one Blocks in the City's
Center Consumed.
SEVERAL LIVES REPORTED LOST.

SEVERAL LIVES REPORTED LOST.
Fire Fighters from NeighborIng Places
Joined Forces with the Local Depart
ment, but Were Powerless to Prevent
the Destruction-A Loss OF SEQ, 100000
SEATTLE. wy T., June s-The city is
picture Of blackened charred and smoking
desolation. Business houses and homes by
the hundreds have been laid in unsightly ruins,
and all through the night, red with tae glars
Of wholesale destruction, hundred Is of people
wandered about homeless and penniless. Sew.
eral lives are reported to have been lost liz
the failing N walls but in the confused stats
Of affairs no particulars can le obtained. This
stricken city Is being guarded 10y tue militia
and extra police, who afford protection x
| property from hundreds OF thieves ami van
dals, who at the first confusion began 10 stea
ana piunder One hundred arrests have al
ready been made and 1t is sad that two men
were lynched The loss viii aggregate S2O,,
| OU1,O 900.
From the initial point the fire spread north
and south, a distance Of one mills. Every
newspaper, hotel, telegraph Office, railroad
I dept and wharf in the city was totally do
stroycd The entire water front including
oil whnrves and docks, coal bunkers and rail
way tracks, the wholesale quarter and every.
thing south OF Union street and west OF SEC
ond street. and reaching around 70 the gm
works and above Fourth street, on jackson
was completely burned II is estimated that
the total loss 10 the city in buildings alone
easily Sl00OO00O, and all personal losses vii
probably reach S20.0OO0O0a
There is great privation felt among the
poor classes, as nearly every restaurant ane
| grocery in the city was consumed by the fire.
The burned district, comprising sixty y-tou
acres, now presents the aspect OF a huge oven
Of burning Goals, AMI threatens even further
destruction.
Origin of the Fire.
About o'clock Thursday afternoon soms
turpentine caught fire in the basement of
two story frame building at Front and Madi
son streets. The volunteer fire department
responded promptly but il was impossible ts
make any headway against the flames Tbs
whole square OF frame buildings was soon on
fire. The flames leaped across Marion street
10 the Palace saloon and Opera House saloon
nnd in less than thirty minutes another square
was burned 80 ashes, taking IN Ad iison 3
b EAlANuH kIAftl4t MtfNntNA y WnNltofttt N3if
fectionery and fruit store, j. w Lang &
Co.'s drug store, John spencer's plumb
ing and STRAIN fitting establishment r. J.
Graham's tailor shop, Edgar Bryan's pawn
shop Palace restaurant, Slmson Brothers
shoe store, Gerug a. OCOnnei's jewelry
Z store and other stores
While this square was burning, the Opers
I house book, on the east side Of Front street
caught fire in the upper stories This build
ing a five story brick structure, valued al
Sl2l, coo, soon yielded 70 the flames. With il
went tile Golden Rule bazaar, Harris & Co.s
y large dry goods and clothing store, Aber.
I nathy's shoe store, Croose a Co.'s undertake
ing estabn. hment, Latour's large dry good
: house aud others The Kenyon block, to ths
Z north, had TO go, too, notwithstanding the
wind was from the east. In this block wa,
the job printing establishment Of The Even
ing Tiger and Veneo & Vaugh's music store,
From the opera house block the fire moved
TO the SOU ire 20 the south, consisting of two
story frame buildings. The fire department
u struggled with determination to save the
: most valuable portion ot Front street 10 the
SOUTH between Columbia 50 eet and Y esler
: which contained a row Of Trick buildings,
\ two ana thres stories high, where four banks
had their offices This row consisted OF q
corner block occupied by Toklas Sing rmar
& Co.'s wholesale dry goods, the Unior
7 ! block, the Parin building, the San Francisco
y clothing house, and other buildings Ss,
Explosions Of Powder Useless.
All the telegraph offices were in Contra
!, square. II was generally supposed that th
{, entire water front would 60, but it wa
: hoped, if such was inevitable these building
i, could be saved. The explosions of gian
4 powder were fruitless TO prevent the spreas
OF the relentless flames. The water was Civ
a ing out and the streams from several lines o
i hose only reached the second story.
4 The Tacoma fire department had conn
n over from Tacoma In sixty-two minutes oI
A the Puget Sound Shore railroad, but botl
u departments combined were powerless, ans
h tho attempts 10 blow up the Union bocl
were more disastrous to the valiant fir
=, fighters than TO anything else All this row
, of buildings succumbed, althoushs the occu
= pants had time 70 get out most OF thel
5 property. The square north gave way L
n n the fire easily, ami soon the rooi Of the Occi
e dental hotel, the .nest hctel in the city, 60
4. ablaze.
4, The burned district covers an area 0
- thirty-one square blocks. The boundary o
- the burned district is University, Front
y spring 70 Seconl, James, South, Fourth
" Wall and Water streets. This comprises th
n business portion Of the city The residepc
district escaped ~