The San Francisco call., 1898-08-15
HUNDREDS ARE OUT OF WORK
NO STEPS TAKEN TOWARD RE
 BUILDING.
Heroic Efforts Saved the Southern Pacific Freight Depot - Sum
 mary of Losses and Insurance.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

FRESNO, Aug 14-The confagra- tion that devastated a large area in the packing house district in Fresno at midnight, was not got under control until daybreak this morning. The az gregate loss is now variously estimated from a conservative standpoint at from $500. GOO to $450 900.
 The buildings, together with their en- tire contents. destroyed were: The For syth Seeded Raisin Packing Company s establishment, Phoenix Packing House, Union Ice Works (partially destroyed), National Ice Company's establishment, Farmers Warehouse, Einstein Ware house, Hobbs & Parsons Warehouse (partially destroyed) and the residence of John Doyle, yardmaster.
 In addition to the buildings enume- rated, the Southern Pacifc's loss will be considerable. Several strings of freight cars standing along the sides of the packing houses and the warehouses were a mass of flames before the force of railroad men could haul them away. The freight depot of the Southern Pa cific was on fire several times, but a large force of railroad men were sta toned there and they managed to save it.
 Gartenlaub & Pratt of the Phoenix Packing and RaiSin Seeding Company state that their loss will amount to $70,- GOO approximately This plant was par tially covered by insurance. The atoclx alone in this packing house was valued at $30,000.
 Forsyth's loss is placed at $121, 06O Colonel Forsyth was in Santa Cruz when his business place was destroyed. There was an insurance on the build ing and stock amounting to S90,000
 M. w Muller of the Farmers Ware house estimates his loss at 5000. The grain was all insured The insurance rate on grain is low, and for that req son it is believed that it was insured to nearly its value.
 The loss to the Einstein Warehouse will foot up to about the same as the Farmers Warehouse Company.
 It is impossible to estimate the loss to the ice company. but their loss will be very heavy one, as large qUanti- ties of wood and coal were consumed.
 The loss of Hobbs & Parsons will be between $30,000 and $50, GOO. They suc- ceeded in saving part of their ware house.
 The Southern Pacifics loss will also be large, but even an approximation could not be made this morning. Twenty-Five or thirty cars were burned, some of them being loaded with grain and raiSins. A large number cf ties were also destroyed and the rack was burned in a number of places A num- Der of third class sleepers were also re- duced to ashes
 Only the low, compact structure of the Hobbs & Parsons warehouse and the fire-prOof construction of the Bur leigh building prevented the fire from sweeping the entire line of packing houses on both sides of the track.
 The loss of the two principal pack ing houses of the district is a severe blow to Fresno. It will be the means of throwing hundreds of needy men and women out of employment at the only time when they usually find this class of work in abundance. The loss of nearly sixty carloads of raisins in the various warehouses and packing estab- lishments will not injure the raisin business in this section in the least. The canning crop will be packed and seeded by the remaining places.
 No action has been taken thus far toward rebuilding in the burned dis. trict.