St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-06
i FAIR CITY AFLAME.
Winona Visited by the Most
Disastrous Fire in It's
History.
The Conflagration Breaks Out
in the Center Of the Great
Lumber District.
Several Warehouses and Many
Million Feet Of Lumber
Totally Destroyed.
The Loss Over S30O,0OO--Aid
Summoned From st. Paul
and Elsewhere.
SpecIal 10 the Globe.

Srecial TO the Globe.
WINoNA, Sept. 5.-The most disas-
trous fire WinOna has ever had and one
that threatened to cripple the chief in
dustry by destroying totally three of the
finest Sawmills on the river, with mill
ions upon millions Of feet of lumber
and all tho attendant losses, ragged this
afternoon and is still burning on the
lower levee. The fire started in the
lumber yard of the Laird-NOrtOn com
pany, very few minutes after o'clock
this afternoon. A. II. Beyerstedt. who
was standing in the wood yard when the
fire broke out. says it seemed to spring
up all of sudden from several differ
ent places close together, m the lumber
yard about a hundred feet back Of the
blacksmith shop
TOWARD THE RIVER.
The only explanation of the source is
that the fire caught in dry sticks, etc,
on the ground among the wood from
sparks from the saw mill. There is a
spark arrester on the stock, but it seems
probable that few sparks escaped and
fell among the dry wood. As is usual
ID lumber yard fires the flames burst
forth in all directions almost upon an
instant. The alarm was at once given
from box -, and the department re-
Sponded with the usual pTOmpIneSS. In
the meantime. the Laird-NortOn boys
had their hose out and a stream on, but
they might as well have tried to stem
the Mississippi. Feeding upon the piles
of dry lumber the fire burst up far in
the air and leaped. not crept, from pile
TO pile. There was no wind when the
fire broke out, but strong breeze soon
sprang up from the West and famed
the furious flames. From pile to pile
Ihey leaped, creeping up toward the
saw mill and rushing with terrible
speed down in the other direction
through the lumber yard ard toward
the saw mills on the lower levee. For
time brave efforts were made to fight
the fire from behind, the object
being to save the saw mill.
The heat was
MOST INTENSE
and it was death to venture too close.
The firemen fought well, and were as
sisted by hundreds of willing hands.
The mayor and most of the aldermen,
with hundreds of citizens, were Oh
hand. lending all possible assistance.
As the wind gradually arose from the
west. it became evident that the SaWmill
was no longer in immediate danger, and
every energy must bend TO checking the
spread of the fire from below. Several
streams We're left to pour water upon
the sawmill, blacksmith shop, ahd blaZ-
ing piles near by, as had been done
from the start, while the main force of
defense was moved to the broad space
l Do of N I of,.R
Norton company and the Empire Lum-
must be made. If the fire could be
checked here. the Empire and Winona
sawmillS and yards would be saved. If
the fierce-on rush of the flames could
not be stopped here, the whole vast
lumber yards and SaWmilS must 90. No
power could arrest the flames until they
burned out, if they passed this point,
about 200 feet separate the two lumber
yards. Here a large force was con-
tributed and dozen streams turned on
the lumber. The Empire company Civ
ing it a thorough soaking, boards were
raised to form a sheath all along the
piles of lumber. Other hands were
hard at work tearing down the smaller
piles that stood on the edge Of the road,
and soaking the prOmiScuOus piles of
boards. Many of the big piles in the
course Of the fire were
PULLED DOWN
before it reached them. All realized
that this was the battlefield. this sharp
contest would decide the battle. The
flames came rushing on leaping high in
the air, the heat was terrific, even be-
hind the doors and soaked with water,
the firemen could not venture any,
where near the flames. The steamer
was pulled down here from Its first To-
cation next to the planning mill, and
soon had two vigorous streams at work.
The mill pumps were all at work, but
the great number of streams was too
much for the capacity Of the
mains, and the pressure was
not sufficient. As a mockery a long
row OF water pipes lay on the ground.
just delivered there, ready to be placed
In the ground for fire protection. Here
the fight was made, and hot one it
was. As soon as the fire broke out and
Its danger was seen La Crosse was tele-
graphed for help. The st. Paul rail
road people had an engine and fat car
ready in five minutes, and about 3 80
The La Crosse steamer, TO carts and men
reached here. At o. m. Thomas
Simpson drove up ptOwn and telegraphed
10 st. Paul for aid. Meanwhile the fire
had jumped across Front street, and the
vast piles Of lumber between Front and
Second streets, down toward Laird
street. were blazing fiercely. Residents
of the north side of Second street for
five or six blocks from the planning mill
down to Vine street were thoroughly
alarmed and hard at work taking out
all their household goods and removing
them TO
PLACE OF SAFETY.
1t looked as though the whole section
was doomed. The fire seemed to
be rushing along toward Second
street near the corner of Vine
where it would have a clean
sweep down the street and close in
upon the gallant fire-fghterS from three
directions at once. By O'Clock the
Laird-NOrton saw mill was safe, and
so was the planning mill, probably.
although the piles of lumber across the
track back of the planning mill were
afire and blazing brightly. There was
no possible chance of saving ANYTHING
in the Laird-NOrtOn yard north of the
track; all depended on checking the
fires further progress. The flames had
swept a clean path through the vast
piles of lumber from the blacksmith
Shop, last to the Empire yard, leaving
nothing but mass of blaZ-
ing wreck. the big brick ware
house, formerly belonging to the
Bonn company, was destroyed, and the
small brick Office opposite was also
gone. The big shingle sheds and barn
were th eatened. The loss of the Laird
Norton company, as estimated, will be
almost a quarter of a million dollars.
There is about 100000 feet of