Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-11-19
FIERCE FOREST FIRES,
Enormous Loss Caused In Spring
and Summer of 1908.
MANY TOWNS DESTROYED.
Timber Burned Equal In Value to Good
Sized Navy of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Gus Experience In Fighting Flames.
Historic Forest Fire Incidents.

oi<eu NdNy OF DdtbesHiPS-SoHtln
Gus Experience In Fighting Flames.
Historic Forest Fire Incidents.
The forest fires which have recently
laid waste whole countries in Minnesota
and Michigan and extended into Wis
consin, destroying many towns AMI
making thousands of persons homeless,
have focused the attention of both
government and state forest officers on
the enormous losses of forest wealth
which will be checked up to the year
1905
In the whole northern half of the
United States, throughout the territory
extending from coast TO coast, the re
ported destruction by forest fires has
been terrific, and it is likely that the
year will 90 down as one of the worst
IN the last quarter century, says for
est service bulletin. 1t seems that
no part of the country has escaped the
work of the devastating flames. The
latest disasters IN Minnesota, Michigan
and Wisconsin are the worst of the
many that have visited the lake states
this year. Other sections have also
suffered from forest fires during the
spring and summer months, and the
people OF the Pacific coast, the Rocky
mountain and the New England states
and Canada have had thorough ana
in some cases continuous experience
in fire fighting.
Officers in the United States forest
service at Washington say that 1t Is
doubtful if this years actual losses
from forest fires in all parts Of the
United states will ever be known, but
it is certain that they will run up so
high In the millions that the country
will be startled when a compilation
of statistics at the end Of the season
makes it possible to give even the
most conservative figures. Suffice it u
say, were all the timber burned up this
year in all parts of the country con
verted into cash it could provide for Il
good sized navy of first class battle
ships
Tho fires have done good in one way.
They have called the peoples atten-
tiOn to the seriousness of tne forest
fire problem, practical forestcrs say.
and have started a widespread move
ment in many states to check them by
adopting rational systems of fire pro
lection. Among thinking people there
has been awakened an intense inter
est in throwing better protection
. around the forests, which grow more
important rs n natural resource as the
timber supply dwindles.
The terrible work of the flames
which have burned over and destroyed
hundreds Of thousands of acres Of tim
ber and property to the value of mil
lions in the lake states recalls to mem
ory other great forest fires which have
attained historic Importance.
One of the earliest of these was the
great Miramichi fire in 1928. 1t began
its greatest destruction about | o'clock
in the afternoon of Oct. of that year
at place about sixty miles above the
town of Newcastle, on the Miramichi
river, In New Brunswick Before 10
| below Newcastle In nine hours II
| had destroyed belt of forest eighty
I miles long and twenty five miles wide.
over more than 2.5OO.OO0 acres almost
every living thing was killed. Even
the fish were afterward found dead in
heaps on the river banks Five hun
dred and ninety buildings wei burned.
and number of towns, including New
castle, Chatham and Douglastown,
were destroyed. One hundred and six
ty persons perished and nearly thou
sand head Of stock. The loss from
the Miramichl fire is estimated at
/ 100000. not including the value of
! the timber
In the majority of such forest fires
as this the destruction of the timber
! is Il more serious loss by far than
that Of the cattle and buildings for it
carries with it the impoverishment of a
whole region for tens or even hundreds
! of years afterward. The loss of the
stumpagc value of the timber Mt the
| time of the fire is but small part OF
/ the damage to the neighborhOod. The
wages that would have been earned in
| numbering. added TO the value of the
! produce that would have been pur-
chased TO supply the lumber camps
! and the taxes that would have been
! devoted to roads and other public i'm
provements. furnish n much truer
measure OF how much, sooner or later.
1t costs n region when its forests are
! destroyed by fire
The Peshtigo fire of October, 1871,
was still more severe than the Mira
michi. 1t covered an area of more
than 1000 square miles in Wisconsin
| and involved loss in timber and other
! property of many millions of dollars.
Between 1000 and 1900 persons per,
! iShed.
] The most destructive fire of more re-
cent years was that which started near
| Hmcklcy, Mimi. Sept. /. 1894. While
the area burned over was less than
in some other great fires, the loss of
| life and property was very heavy
| Hinckley and six other towns were de.
stroyed, about 800 lives were lost
more than 1000 persons We're left deS.
titute, and the estimated loss in prol,
erty of various kinds was $25,000.CO3
Except for heroic conduct of locomo
tive engineers and other railroad men
the loss of life would have been much
greater. This fire was all the more de-
/ NIlr Al