The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-09-15
Several Families Fail to Es- cape the Flames and Per-
 ish With Their Homes
LOSS ID PROPERTY IS
 ESTIMATED AT $3OO,OOO
In Two Counties in Oregon 300 Fam lilies Are Left Homeless-Sprina- water Section Has Been Ut
 terIy Swept by the Fire.

Kalama, Wash. September 14-D. L. Wallace. wife and two children, were burned to death last night by the forest fires on Lewis river They were camping in the woods when caught by the fire. Their wagon was found burned up. the charred bodies lying near. twelve-year-old boy of MT. Hanley's also is dead. Mrs. John Polly and baby and a brother, and MT. Newhouse and Mrs. Graves are dead Fifteen others were found without clothing except gunny- sacks.
 Five logging camps are burned out completely and many families have lost everything.
 The worst of the fire Is on the Lewis river about twelve miles above Wood land. The country Is well settled and there are doubtless other casualties not yet reported.
 The fire has spread from Lewis river north to the Kalama river and fifty sec- tions of the finest of the timber on the coast are destroyed. It is impossible to give any estimate of the amount of the damage done to the property. Oak Point, zO miles below here on the Columbia river, is totally destroyed. There are no reports of lives lost but loss to property Is estimated at about $300,000.
 great fire is also raging on the CoWe- man in the northern part of the country Everything combustible was consumed. The air Is thick with smoke and falling ashes. Many lumber camps are reported destroyed or badly damaged. Two men from Barr's camp are reported missing, people are panic stricken. In Cowlitz county five people are dead and two miss ing with complete reports. A courier just arrived states that there are only two houses left standing on Lewis river in distance of thirty miles and that not less than fifteen persons have perished.
 300 People Left Homeless.
 Portland, Ore, September 14-About 300 people are lett homeless at Multnom- ah and Clackamas counties as a result of the forest fires that have ragged for the past week. Fires have burned over a wide scope of country but the greatest damage in this state appears to have been done in these two counties
 In the fire that destroyed the town of Palmer near Bridal Veil, two boys named Hamilton were burned to death.
 The timber losses in Clackamas coun- ty have been immense and the whole
 
 nothing but vistas of ruined settlements. In Eastern Multnomah the fires are under control and no further damage is feared unless weather conditions change. In Southern Oregon excellent work has been done by the forest rangers and the destruction confined to a comparatively limited area.
 The most distressing losses have been those suffered in the vicinity of Spring water, Clockamas county, and Lentz. Multnomah county. The Springwater re- i zion has been utterly swept by the fires and those who have reached points in communication with the outside world say that immediate help must be sent in order to save the lives rescued from the devouring flames. Around Portland the fires are dying down and the people in the suburbs are resting easy for the first time since Thursday. In all parts of the willamette and Columbia river valleys the smoke continues very dense. There is no way of securing correct estimate of the loss, but it certainly will exceed $1, GOO in this state