The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1889-08-10
FORTY BLOCKS IN ASHES
The City Of Spokane Falls Wiped
Ont by Fire.
Little Of the Business Part Of the
Town Left.
Flames Start in a Restaurant and Sweep
All Before Them
a Loss Estimated at Fully Tlirty Million
Dollars.

night. Details Of the destruction are
hard to obtain this morning. Forty
business blocks fell prey to the flames.
/ The Northern Pacific depot and all the
public buildings in the city were car
Yied away in the general havoc. First
! estimates received place the loss by the
( condagration at $30,010,CC0
The fire started in the large frame
block opposite the Northern Pacific
I depot, and under the influence oil
the high winds, which scattered
burning embers and started
! fires in haJf dozen different
/ blocks at once, the whole district was
! burned over IN three hours. rhe water
supply proved totally inadequate, even
! for a small fire, and firemen as we'll as
( citizens became panic-stricken.
/ Several people are known to have
/ persisted IL the flames and several more
/ were injured by leauing from windows.
/ Charles Davis, o. Chicago, a guest at the
! Arlington House, WAS awakened by
/ flames bursting through tne door of his
room IN the third Story. He Jumped
from the window, was shOckinglv man
gled and died III a few minutes. A
+ woman whose name is unknown, leaped
/ from the second story of the Pacific
/ Hotel and was killed.
! The fire spread with such astonishing
rapidIty that il is believed many were
4 shut of from escape before they were
even aware Of their danger. A dozen
/ large buildings were blown up with
giant powder by the orders of the
+ mayor. but even this proved futile.
/ The Northern Pacific Is probably the
Z heaviest laGar tho rtcssa y, rar. lay,+ 10, !
magnificent new freight warehouse be-
. Ing destroyed. Their loss, including
. freight burned, viii reach about 81 ,U00.- :
0t0. All provisions and supplies were
burned and there Will necessarily be
much suffering for several davs. An
peaIs Tor help have beG n sent out and
Portland, Seattle, Tacoma and several
. neighboring small towns have already
responded.
1 This disaster il undoubtedly twice as
great as that which overlook Seattle.
both on account OF its great extent and
/ the more substantial character of the
! burned buildings. No account OF
! losses has yet been received.
! The Western Union Office was burned
out and all instruments destroyed ex-
. cept one which al operator IS now
working on dry goods box Just out
side the city. y othIng could be sent
last night because the forest fires in the
Cascades had cut down tla wires.
/ The fire exhausted itself at the river
for lack Of material. All the flour and
lumber mills were saved.
j The business district Of Spokane was
IN a strip between the Northern Pacific
Rriiroad tracks and the Spokane RIVER.
This strip was five squares across and
extended about seven squares in
+ length. 1t was solidly built up with
+ brick and stone structures, the cost of
which varied from 50, 900 10 1925, 600.
/ Ten banking houses, five hotels, the
/ opera house and many wholesale es.ab-
/ lishnents doing a business of half a
million each were situated within the
district described.
The estimate of 100000 GOO is believed
/ here TO be exaggerated. Halt that
amount is thought to be nearer the actu-
al figure, assuming that the reported
/ complete destruction of the city is cor
rect. Ine population OF Spokane is
about 10000. The city possessed an ex-
Cellcnt water works modelled after the
HOIley system, with a capacity of 9.0G0,-
OC0 gallons daily. There were
no fire engines but that by the system
IN use five or six goOd-sized streams
could be concentrated on any block IN
case Of fire. The tire department was q
volunteer one. Buildings that cost
$50, 900 70 $4,000 are known TO have
had but 80 600 to $4,000 insurance.
! The chief losses, as nearly as can be
inferred from the reports that
have reached Helena. were as follows:
/ Holley, Mason, Marks & Co, wholesale
hardware, Sl25, 600; the Great Eastern
/ wholesale and retail dry goods house,
SlO0, 600; the "White House" whole
sale and retail dry goods
house, $4,000; Lowenberg Bros, $780,
GOO; Benhsm x Gitfths, wholesale gro
+ GERS, $4,000; Mason, Smith 4 Co., gro
GERS, $4,000; Pacific Hotel, $4,000;
Grand Hotel, $40 GJ0; Windsor, $4,000:
Hyde Block, 5000; Washington
Block, SO, 600; Crescent, $4,000;
Cannon Block, $4,000; First National
Bank Building, S25, 600; Wolyerton
Block, 50 Coo; Frankfort Block, SI25,-
Geo; Tull Block, 575, Goo.
Much comment has been excited by
the extraordinary series which has
IN Washington Territory. First came
tile fearful disaster to Seattle, the chief
city IN the new state. From Seattle in
the west It seems rs il fire had
travelled directly east. for Elleus-
burg, a fOurishiug inland city was
nearly destroyed within the past fort
night. Now IN the extreme easr, Spo-
kane, which next tc Seattle was the
/ principal city Of the state, suffers bv
FAR : wOrGe calamity.
ST. PAUL, Mimi. Aug. 5.-But little
can be learned here regarding the Spo-
kane Falls fire. All Western Union
and Northern Psci5c Railroad wires
are down and not much prospect of hay
ing one soon. The general manager of
the Northern Pacific has the followin.
dispatch, time a. ", which is the lat
est word they have received from
the burning city; Fire started IN q
restaurant at 6:45 last evening, spread
ing rapidly through the business por-
ton of city. and has already destroyed
twentv-one of tie finest blocks inciUd-
ing Northern Pacific depot. hotels, etc.
/ Fire Is still raging neTCeIy on the north
side and 1t Is impossible 10 form any es-
innate Of what the loss will be- 50 lar
as known no lives have been lost
/ PORTLAND, Ore, Aug. 5.-All connec-
ton with Spokane Fails was lost at : last
evening. All known IS that the North
eTu Pacific, two blocks north, had then
+ been burned and the Pacific Hotel and
another block were then in flames aud
the wind was tanning the fire toward
the business part OF the city. Inquiries
for information are coming from al
directions. Everything IS being done
+ that is possible toward getting conuec'
+ ton.