The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-08-05
FIRE STILL RACES
IN West CANADA.
Immense Forests Eaten UP
as Though They Were
finder.
PROPERTY LOSS WILL
REACH SEVEN MILLIONS
:
Loss Of Life Not as Great as
Was First Reported, but Suf-
fering Intcnsein Burnt Dis
trict-Smoke Turns
Day Into
Night.

I q
Night.
= VANCOUVER. 3. c.. August a.
The terribly destructive forest
Tires which have. swept
through the Crows Nest dis
trict OF the Elk River Valley,
in British Columbia, since last Satur-
day. devastating vast stretch OF ter
ritory, destroying many lives and mill
lions OF dollars OF property, wiping
out entire towns and rendering thou
sands of persons homeless, are still
raging. but are now sweeping wild
and sparsely settled country, and 1t
is believed the worst is over. The
flames are eating through vast for
ests on the mountain sides, and 1t Is
thought they will soon burn themselves
out for lack of something to destroy.
1t is impossible at this time to ar
rive at summary of the situation a S
regards loss OF lie and property with
even approximate correctness. So wide
spread has been the destruction and
SO scattered are the people who lived
In the burned area OF more than fifty
miles in length and three miles In
width that any estimate of the number
who met death in the flames is noth-
ing more than guesswork.
Stories of missing settlers are COM
Ing from Fernie. Cranbrook. Michel.
Hosmer and other places. but many OF
these have turned UP at some point
far from their original habitation, and
1T is not believed the death list will
exceed fifty.
Loss About Seven Mullins.
The property loss has been very
great. but this. too. is difficult to es-s
innate correctly. A conservative val-
uation would probably place the
amount at between s6,000,00o and ST.,
600, ,000 Several thousand people have
been rendered homeless. principally
residents of Fernie. which according
TO all accounts, is almost completely
wiped out, scarcely more than score
| of buildings being left where once a
prosperous town OF 5000 inhabitants
stood.
There has been suffering among the
homeless owing to lack OF food and
shelter. but this has been alleviated
or partly relieved BY the prompt ac-
tion OF the people OF every city in
those OF border States, in sending both
money and supplies to the burned dis
tricts.
This aid has been most generous. and
the temporarily destitute people Will
be adequately and promptly provided
for. Means Of communication with the
| burned section has been most diff
cult. Telegraph and telephone wires
were destroyed for miles in places and
this fact, taken together with the con-
| Trajectory reports from the various
| towns, has led to great confusion and
probably much exaggeration as to the
! loss Of life.
Summary Of Damage.
| A summary Of the results of the
fires has been prepared here. which is
believed to be a conservative estimate
as to loss and life and proprty de-
stroyed. 1t is as follows:
Town of Fernie. about 5000 inhabi-
| tants, practically wiped out; loss IF
twenty lives and 100000 or $5,oO0.-
| 900 in property. Insurance about 80
! per cent.
| Town OF Hosmer. about 500 lnhabt-
| tants, partially burned, with loss Of
| one life and $250,00O In property.
Three hundred persons homeless.
Town OF Michel. believed not serious
| ly burned. but four persons reported
killed and property destroyed in
vicinity estimated at $1.ooo.ooo. De-
tails unobtainable owing to lack OF
| communication.
i Town Of Sparwood, sawnill village;
1 two killed. and large mills destroyed.
1 Damage estimated at $25O,00o Dam
age to standing timber throughout the
burned area estimated at from $1.000,.
900 to $2.o00,000.
Smoke Hid Sun.
1 Many pathetic stories of flight and
In many instances the death OF un-
| fortunate settlers, who were caught in
! the swirl of flames as 1t swept through
tire great forests OF pine and fir, are
coming in from the various points with
which communication has been re-es-
tablished. 1t has not been determined
how the fire started, whether through
i carelessness or design, but once 1t had
/ gained headway it swept with almost
i Incredible speed, at times eating up
1.-THE timber as If 1t were dry tinder.
.lliEhting up the whole country at night
and, filling the atmosphere with a
|choking smoke that oftenu hid the sun
from view and turned daylight almost
into night.
!. Good Order Maintained.
Superintendent Hussey, of the pro-
1 yincial police. has been sent by the
I government of British Columbia to the
i tire-swept region, and he Is now N
charge of the relief work in East
Kootenai, acting with the local au-
! offered to send detachment OF North
, west mounted police iMto the devastated
region to preserve order, but thus faI
i the provincial authorities have had the
. situation we'll in hand. The large nun.
her OF foreigners employed In tho
mines in that district have given nc
|, trouble and no looting has taken place
!, as the fire left little OF value to loot
"A telegram from Mayor Fink, q
Cranbrook. says that 2,000 Fernie
refugees are there, and that he has M
], definite information as to who or how