Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-05-24
Terrible ConfiaGration Sweeps Over
Northern Peninsula of Michigan,
Destroying Millions of Dollars
Worth of Property
Towns Destroyed by Fire

The forest fires which have been
sweeping over the upper Michigan pc
ninsula have abated after doing vast
damage. but the truce may not last
long. The gale which swept over the
district died down. but Il recurrence
of it would fan the smoldering and
smoking remnants of the confiagration
into fierce life again.
SO far it is known that four persons
are dead, while Il score or more are
missing. Hundreds of families are
homeless and several millions of dol
lars of property has been burned. Four
towns have been wiped out entirely and
a dozen more partially destroyed. Five
counties have been devastated.
This is the dreadful picture that the
northern Michigan peninsula presents
to-day after the worst forest fire since
the Peshtigo disaster in 1871. General
Superintendent w. f. Wells of the Els
canada and Lake Superior Road. along
which right of way the greatest loss
occurred returned tonight from a trip
and says that the flames have gone
down and for the time being the dan
ger is over unless new gale arises
again to fan the smoke into flames.
Details of the fire are gradually com
ing out of the burned territory Refu-
gees and trainmen telling tales of mis-
cry and suffering as well as herosm
and brave deeds that were enacted
while the fire was at its height The
reports all show that the fire was fully
as serious as first reported
Vast Section Fire Swept.
The burned over district extends
from a point ten miles out of Escanaba
to Talbot on the south, to Claiming and
Quinnesec on the west, Sands on the
north and back to Escanaba. While
this territory has not been swept over
entirely, the major portion of it north
of the Northwestern line has. South of
the line it burned in spots.
The flames We're fierceSt along the
Escanaba and Lake Superior line 1t is
in this district that thousand or more
of the small fires have been smolder-
these fires because they were not dan
gerous, but it only needed a wind to
fan them into a mighty sheet of fame
This wind came and the world knows
the result
Toward noon Friday the wind began
To 1t hn 70 Of
thirty miles an hour BY o'clock the
velocity was forty miles and by
o'clock the small fires seemed to have
united into one large one that extended
over Il fifty-mile stretch ard swept
along with fury that no human hand
could stay. The flames seemed to cen
ter from place called Northand and
from there swept down toward Escan-
aba.
Throughout the territory hundreds
of woodsmen were put to work to stay
the fire, but it could not be fought. 1t
marched on and it was only by divert
ing its path that some of the towns
We're saved.
First to be driven were the woodmen
in camp and the homesteaders. Hun
dreds of small and prosperous farms
abound in the territory and the occIl-
pants of these hurried to the nearest
towns for shelter Cattle and stool.
and houses and barns and their con
tents were left for the flames. Wagons
were hurriedly loaded with personal eff
fects md the race against the flames
began.
In some instances whole families
some of the members had been sep
arated and left behind and it was the
fate of these that concerned most. The
flames came in as fast as the refugees.
The latter then with the people of the
towns, turned out to help save the viii
lagos and a desperate fight it was.
Some of the towns were hemmed in on
all sides and it was either save the
towns or burn up Many were saved,
but some were cot.
Towns IL Hard Fight.
Talbot and Quinnesec are the most
notable examples. At both hard fight
was put up, but in the end the places
had to be abandoned.
There was little that human effort
could do to check the flames Water
was scarce and even when it was plen-
tfful it was of no avail in combating
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