The Mena weekly star., 1908-08-06
BUSH FIRES DESTROY
FERNiE, B. C., WIPED OFF THE MAP AND MANY LIVES
 ARE LOST.
OVER 5000 PEOPLE ARE NOW HOMELESS

Hundreds of Lumbermen and Pros
 pectors Scattered Through Territory Over Which Flames Are Sweeping
 Rail and Telegraph commurs cation
 Cut of-Fires Are Not Out Yet. Winnipeg, Man, Aug. 4.--As a re- suit of bush fires the town of Fernie, B. C., is wiped oif the map as a child cleans slate: Michel, IA miles dis tant, is in flames and the fate of Hos mer, Olsen and Sparwood, interven- ing towns Is is doubt, they being cut of from all communication. Over 100 lives are known to have been lost, "A of them in Fernie. A territory of 100 | square miles in extent is a seething mass of flames. Through it are scat tered hundreds of lumbermen and prospectors, so that the actual loss of life will not be known for days. The property of the Canadian Pacific and Great Northern railways are de- stroyed, the bridges and rolling stock burned, so that it is impossible to en- ter or leave the burning area The in- habitants of the towns have fled to open districts in the vicinity in the hope of safety. The railway com panies have placed all available trains at their disposal and unless there is change of wind within the next 24 hours the whole of the Crows Nest Pass country will be left to the flames There is no possibility of estimating the loss of life and property which will result for the flames are driven by half gale. making 1t impossible vance, The conflagration Is the great est which has ever visited Canada and ranks only with the San Francisco disaster.
 l At present the fire is following the crest of the mountain chain above Sparwood. eating down into the val leys on either side. It Is travelling at q tremendous rate and unless there is change of wind will cross the boun- dary into Montana within the next | l2 hours There are thousands of mines and prospectors' claims in the track of the fire, all of which are in | peril. slight change of wind has occurred and Michel has been taken out of the more direct path
 Fire fighting apparatus Is of no avail for the air is filled with fragments of burning wood and sheets of flames seem to leap ahead of the conflagra- | tion as though the air itself is in flames. The heat is intense and many of the fire fighters have gone down ahead of it.
 | Cambrook D. C., Aug. 4.--W Cars well, assistant superintendent of the Great Northern railway. arrived here from Fernie. He made his way out at great risk Part of the trip was made on handcar and the balance on foot. Every stick of timber along I the line is burned and not a living | thing is left MT. and Mrs Forester and 25 men have arrived at Camp bells Siding. having been forced to give up their fight to save the Spar wood mill Five members of the party succumbed and others only escaped by travelling all night by the light of | the fire.
 The whole population of the district is being cleared out. Starvation has been added to the terrors. When the | people left their homes for the protec- | tion camps little or no provisions were taken and now there are some 5000 on the prairies with nothing to | eat
 Attawa. Ont. Aug. 4-Sir Wilfrid Laurier received the following tele- gram Sunday evening from Gran. | brook. B. C.:
 Disastrous fire Kootenay Valley | Fernie, Hosmer, Crows Nest and oth- CT places almost completely burned. | Not less than 5000 people homeless Canadian Pacific railway carrying them to Elko and Cranbrook. Every effort is being made locally. but these people are utterly without food or shelter Fire covers 70 miles. Sev- enty lives lost Immediate relief re- | quired Telegraph instructions at | once'
 The premier will consult his col leagues the first thing in the morning to see what action can be taken by l the federal government
 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Aug. 4-The latest estimates of the dead in the Elk river district by bush fires. | which have been raging from Michel to Ferine. Is 150 persons. The prop erty loss is million dollars in Fernie and coco persons of that city's inhab- itants are homeless The residents have been taken in trains to places of safety and are now destitute
 Thousands of dollars have been sent by Western Canadian cities this morn
 ing to the relief of the destitute Med ical supplies are greatly needed. Fernie, with its lumber mills and real way terminals. is wiped out The fire is still raging around Hosmer and sparwood. but Michel is safe, the wind having died out at midnight. If gale springs up that city again will be in danger Seventy men in the camps of the FIR River company perished. l ------------------~
 Entertained the Fairbanks.
 Mackinac Island Mich, Aug. 4.-