Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1902-06-27
SOUND TIMBER DEgIRgl
MILLIONS GONE UP IN sMoKf
Along the Line of the Northern r.
ciac, Covering 63 Square Miie..
Town of Lester Threatened--Is
coma Firemen in Readiness--slsn,
Mills and Camps Destroyed.

Tacoma, Wash, June 23.LStandins|
timber of commercial value to shs|
amount of 550,000,0O0 feet has been
burned in the districts along the line|
of the Northern Pacific. This timbes
comprised a splendid forest of fjr3
clean of limb for 100 feet. and all read3
ily accessible because it grew within
few miles of the railroad. Two day,|
ago these giants of the Washinetonz
woods reared themselves In an aIraoslI
unbroken mass, covering So souara|
miles of territory; today all that ri
mains of them are smouldering. blaci
ened trunks, so huge that they sril}
defy the rapacity of the flames. Tbs3
value of the timber destroyed is placed
at $1,10O,000.
Lester Threatened Point.
A special from Hot Springs, Wash
says:
Lester is now the threatened point
The forests on each side Of thexyil{
lage are in flames and an increase III
the velocity of the wind would likely3
doom the town. So mepacing was'
the situation during most of the day.
that the relief train kept steam M
and was held in readiness until 3:00|
O'Clock to go to Lester at moments'
notice with the Tacoma fire enginet
At that time the danger was thought
OF have passed and the train returned;
to Tacoma.
At a late hour the forests above
here are burning fiercely, the fiames
being driven into belt of timber nod
hitherto touched. The course Of thd'
| fire belt is almost directly due east
this direction diverting it from tho
line of the railroad. The valley fol
miles is brilliantly Illuminated by th&
blazing trees, but the most combustf
BILE material near by has been COM
sumed and the fire is slowly recedin&
ON both sides of the river. It's nolf
| thern boundary is now about two
miles back from the stream.
| If the wind remains in its presenS
| quarter. twenty-four hours longer th&
| fire will pass the summit of the CasF
cades 1t is only Is miles from her
to Stampede tunnel, with inviting bodf
| les of heavy timber al. the way an&
with an upward slope that favors tha
progress of the flames. 1t Is NOD
| thought the fire will reach the tun
mel, however, as it's present course
will carry it to the divide few miles
north of that point.
| Down at Kanaskat, % miles below
| here, tract Of several square miles
| is in flames. At Covington, eight
miles east of Auburn, there is a fierce
| fire covering two square miles and
rapidly spreading.
Special dispatches report the foEA
lowing lumber mills and camps
burned.
Mountain mill, Enumclaw King
county.
Hansen Bros Mill, Enumclaw
King county.
Morgan's lumber camp, haywood
Pierce county.
Railroads and outbuildings Of Kan
askat
Gould & Blacks logging, camp, Sui
tan, Snohomish county.
Lyman lumber camp, Hamilton, Ska
git county.
Brehm logging camp, near Snoqual
ME. King county.
| These and many other camps have
been burned during the progress q
three separate forest fires. two Of
which started from locomotive sparks
and one from blaze in the MountaiHS
MILL
At Fairhaven, the Holman shings
mill caught fire and burned last night
and at Ferndale, near that point Da'
Wis & Sons dry kiln, with 1,20O0Oes
| shingles, was burned.