The Oskaloosa herald., 1908-09-10
FOREST FIRES ARE
CLOSE TO H|DB|NG
LARGEST TOWN ON THE MEsABA
RANGE Is THREATENED.
MEN ALL FIGHT FLAMES
Duluth Sends Engine and Flremen--
Grand Marais and Its People
Are In Imminent
Danger.
MEN ALL FIGHT FLAMES

Danger.
Duluth, Mimi, Sept. 9.--Hibbing,
the largest and most prosperous town
on the Mesaba range, is threatened
with destruction by fire. Despite the
fact that the city is fairly we'll pro.
| tected by clearings and large open pit
mines, the flames have been getting
closer all the time and every place of
business in the town is closed and the
men are all out fighting the flames.
| THE fire is getting dangerously
close and the situation looks serious"
is the opening sentence OF telegram
received from ]. w. Kreitler superin-
| tendent of the Duluth, Missabe G.
| Northern railway, at the general of.
fees of the road at $3.50 o'clock Tues
day afternoon. The rest of the tele-
gram follows:
"The fire comes very near the Great
Northern spur on this side of Brook
Ign, suburb of Hibbing, and the wind
is blowing our direction, but not so
hard as an hour ago.
Every Man Fighting Flames.
THE city has all available hose out
and every man we can find is fighting
the fire. They have established pipe
line and installed two pumps. The
sky is clearing of smoke somewhat
now. but we are threatened on the
north side as we'll.
Ten Oliver engines Just passed
with men going to fight the fire. The
schools are closed; the business
houses are closed and have sent their
men out to fight the flames. All the
saloons are closed"
} The Duluth fire department received
q telegram from the, department at
Hibbing asking that an engine and all
the hose that could be spared, be
shipped to them by special train at
once. Chief Black with number of
men and the engine left Duluth shortly
after four o'clock for the scene. The
Missabe road, realizing the danger of
the inhabitants of the range, has
trains In waiting at Hibbing to take
| the people away.
Smoke and Heat Oppressive.
Smoke from. the forest fires which
surround the town. make Hibbing so
dark that the electric lights have been
turned on there in the day to enable
the citizens to see their way about.
The smoke is sitting and is causing
a great deal of discomfort The heat
| is very oppressive.
Unless the wind changes Coleraine
and Bovey will be safe from the fire,
for the present at least. According
| to the latest advices from those
towns, the situation looked serious for
awhile Tuesday afternoon, but the
wind is now blowing the fire in an
opposite direction from the towns
The schools and business houses are
all closed and every one is out fight
ing the fires, and preparing to vacate
their homes at moments notice.
| Grand Marais In Peril.
Grand Marais, Mimi, on the north
shore, is in the greatest peril. The
people are in worse straits than the
range people In that they have no
place to flee to. Forest fires are rag
ing within mile of the town.
AL J. Smith, county attorney of
Hennepin county. who has been camp
ing beyond Grand Marais with Judge
Purdy and Judge Noyes, also of Min
neapolis, was burned out at his camp
and with his party had to escape to
Grand Marais in launch. Settlers
| t,1 he fr,y nj 10 ~ CHI
are walking into Grand Marais, arriv-
ing smoke begrimmed, burned and ex-
hausted, with packs of their most
valuable belongings on their backs and
their families dragging YEARLY along
behind them.
| The woods are dry as finder as
there has not been drop of rain in
the north shore country for ii weeks.
The fire Is rushing down upon the
town in great bounds. Mr.. Smith and
| his friends marshaled the terror
stricken citizens of Grand Marais for
a meeting and got 40 men to widen the
clearing around the town. IS
People Beg for Boat.
When Mr.. Smith left the fate of
the town was in doubt. The citizens
were loath to leave their homes and
belongings without making fight for
them, so many of them remained be
hind. Women, weeping, begged those
who went to send boat back for
them quickly. They wanted the
steamer Gopher to come up and lie in
the harbor so that II necessary there
might be a place to flee to.
1t is reported that homesteaders
along the north shore have left their
cabins and are sleeping In tents and
in the open close TO the lake shore.
Mr.. Smith says an east wind will
bring on the destruction Of Grand
Marais in an hour and no power on
earth can save the town. II a fire
comes before boat gets there, the
fate of the population of the little