Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-06-07
SEATTLE IN ASHES.
The Queen City of the Sound
Swept by Fire.
THE DAMAGE OVER S30,OOO,OOO.
The Business Portion Swept by the
Flames-TacOma and Portland
to the Rescue.

SEATTLE, w. T., June Ga fire broke
out at 2 :39 this afternoon in the Pontiuf
building and on Front street, and is now
raging over distance of five or six
blocks with tremendous fury. The vino
was from the north, and the direction o.
the fire was along Front street and the
water front to a big brick block
between Columbia street and the
San Francisco store. The indi'
cations are now that the whole business
portion OF the city will go, involving 9
loss of millions of dollars. The magni6-
cent San Francisco store is also on fire,
and the whole big block will doubtless
go.
The fremen are helpless, and have
telegraphed for aid in all directions.
The Western Union telegraph Office is
about to be abandoned.
INCoNTRoLLABLE FLAMES.
SAN FRANCISCO, June 6.-The follow
ing brief particulars of the fire that is
raging at Seattle were received here in a
disconnected form before the wires went
down: The wind was blowing quite
strongly at the time the fire started, and
when the fire department arrived, the
Pontius building was roaring mass of
flames. The fremen worked with will a,
but were wholly unable to cope with the
FIRE. The flames rose high in the air,
and the sparks were carried far
away by the high wind and spread
broadcast over that part of the
city lying to the south, which
contains many inAammable buildings.
Within an hour, the Frye Opera House
and the Coleman block, as we'll as the
Denny block, were in flames. The
Denny and Coleman blocks were filed
with inf1ammable material and burned
fercely. The heat was 30 intense that
the fremen were hardly able to approach
the burning build; ngs.
A DOOMED CITY.
Unless the wind dies down nothing
can save that part of the city lying to the
south. The fremen are becoming dis
couraged as they see the fire spreading
wholly beyond their control. The peo-
pie in the southern part of the city are
moving out, and the streets are crowded,
as vehicles Of every description are
have been pressed into service. 1t is
thought that the loss at present will be
az leasC So,OOU,uUU.
THE WIRES BURNED OUT.
The Western Union has lost all its
wires to Seattle. The latest dispatch re-
ceived here by Superintendent Jaynes
was that the telegraph Office had taken
fire, and the operators were obliged to
abandon it. 1t is hoped that tempo
rary wire will be secured tonight.
TACOMA, w. T., June 6.-The city of
Seattle is on fire. The Chief of the de-
partment telegraphed to Tacoma for help
from the fire department.. The Bort.
land, Tacoma and Port Townsend en-
gines were telegraphed for. The water
supply is inadequate. One.third OF the
business portion Of the city Is already de.
stroyed. The whole lower part of the
city is burning. There is danger of a
total loss of the business portion. Small
fires are breaking out all over the city and
the police department is inadequate.
The telegraph facilities are crippled.
The largest dry goods store north OF San
Francisco is burning. The Post Intelli-
gencer building is in danger, and the
shipping in the harbor.
The fire is still raging and making way
down First street, towards Five Points
and the Occidental Hotel, where the
buildings are wood and close together.
THE TACOMA FIRE ladies.
The Tacoma Fire Company was dis
patched from here on special train OF
fat cars, and is reported to have arrived.
They were received with cheers. Port
land has sent word that she will send an
engine.
Relief must come quickly, or Seattle
will be destroyed.
At 7:15p. M the Occidental Hotel and
Yesler's wharf were gone. The fire was
raging down Commercial street and
burning up Washington street. Nearly
all the business part of the city is in
ashes.
At 40 P. M. both sides of Front street
up as far as the Opera House and down
as far as Stetson & Posts Mill had burned.
PORTLAND PILES IN.
1t is learned that Portland has pre-
pared special train with fire apparatus
for Seattle. Mayor Wheelwright sent o
hose cart to Seattle at once with its COM
pany.
The news that Seattle was on fire
created an intense excitement on the
streets of Tacoma, and the newspaper
offices were besieged for information. At
o'clock another special train and an
other fire company was sent to the relief.
A special train from Portland, containing
two steam engines and two fire compsn.
les, will reach Tacoma about 8 80 P. M
1t has clear track, and is travelling at
forty miles per hour.
TACOMA, w. T., II :46 p. M.-The
business portion of Seattle, the largest
city in the Territory, is in ashes. Every
bank, hotel, place OF amusement, all the
leading business houses, newspaper
offices, railroad depots, mills, steamboat
wharves, coal bunkers, freight ware
houses and telegraph offices, are burned.
The fire began near the corner of Front
and Pearl streets in the Seattle candy
factory building, at 2:30 P. NJ. and,
before midnight, had consumed the
whole business section of the town north.
ward to Stetson & Posts mill, and along
Front and Second streets to the water
front, involvinga loss of over $1,000, 900.
The city is literally wiped out except the
residence portion on the higher ground
At 6 80 o'clock, the Aames had reached
the wharves, and the steamboats, and
shipping were compelled to move out in
to the stream.
| THE FLAMES DID THEIR WORST.
TACOMA, W. T., June 7, 1 :06 A. M
The whole OF the business portion o.
Seattle is destroyed, including all the
newest and most costly brick blocks, al
the banks and the principal hotels. The
loss will RUM into the millions, and break
1.-THE Home Insurance Company. The
G.n ct;1I rouao bY1t hoe dopa SIC xx,orot