The Honesdale citizen. [volume] (Honesdale, Pa.) 1873-1908, 1908-08-06
Big BLAZE
is STILL
=. RAGING.
More Than Hundred
Miles Burned.
MAY Be ACROSS LINE
American Side Of the Border
Threatened.
NlIMbEn 0E DEAD UNKNOWN.
No Accurate Estimate Of Loss Is
Yet Possible.
NUMBER OF DEAD UNKNOWN.
No Accurate Estimate Of Loss Is
Yet Possible.

FOREST IRE WHICH Ill oue udy uesuoSeu
the towns Of Fernie, Coal Greek, Hos.
mer and a section OF Michel, In the
rich Kootenay mining district Of Brit.
ish Columbia. causing a loss Of at
least 30 lives and the destruction of
more than S5.OOOOOO worth Of property,
ls still raging.
The flames thus far have consumed
much more than hundred square
miles. and the latest authentic repurts
indicate that they are sweeping with
great speed toward the Montana
border They may now even have
crossed the line and entered the Unit.
ell States.
So meager Is the news from the
mountain towns that no exact estimate
of loss Of life can he had. and prob.
ably the number Of those who peri shell
never will he known.
The estimates run as high as POO.
while the property loss is probably
over $5,O00,0OO The whole country he.
tween Cranbrook and Michel has been
placed under martial law by the Brit.
fish Columbia government, and all
energies are bent to relieving the dis.
tress OF the survivors.
Bodies Of Forty Dead Seen.
First al rivals from Fernie place the
death list there at 100 The bodies OF
over forty dead were said to have
been seen along the track between
Michel end Frank. In one lumber
camp elsht dead are reported.
Wires are still down in the burning
area. and the only authentic news Ia
brought out by men who have worked
their way through the fire zone.
When the flames first appeared in
the bush at West Fernie the inhab
itants started leisurely across the
river. But presently they saw that the
are had jumped the river In the south
end, and then there was a stampede.
Families were separated, and children.
having no one to guide them, wander.
ed away from the line OF escape and
were cut on Shortly after the fire
jumped the river another long tongue
OF fame ran through the west town to
the bridge, cvttlng OF this avenue Of
escape,
r.I.. roII L s;
Many horr,wIny ,,Ics aro tnId oro
woman of West Fernie had Just
emerged from her home, which was
on fire. She dropped dead Of heart
disaasa Tho p.i.hh,rs buried har In
bnr y.r,sn and ,bcn ram ,,r ,ho,r I,ros
In another part of the city an aged
woman. an invalid. was carried a shor,
distance. but the heat became too
great She begged to he left To hci
fate. and her relatives. wrarping hel
IN wet blankets. fed toward the hills
She was burned to drnth Resides the
Elk mill. the Fernie and Cedar Valley
companies places were burned
The Wood Ne Nab people were sue.
cessful in fighting the flames. MANY
miners of F"rnir went 10 Coal Creek
To search for the bodies VI Frank Bea.
Yer and IIilchmough. who were killed
I'm an accident Beavers body was
brought To the surface, but the Other
could not he found A psinfuI sur
prise awaited the rescuers when thav
came down to F.rnIc for NV that time
the place was burned and the train.
unable to move eastward.
refer lalole was the last to cross
the bridge with his wife and two
children. Two other children, as he
supposed, had gone ahead with HIS
brother-inIaw, hut, as II proved, they
had been cut on ana had perished.
Woman With Baby Lost.
In another instance. while the brid0e
was burning. woman rushed to the
bank of the river with a child In her
arms. The water at that point was
turbulent. the current being broken Inv
rocks She tried TO signal those on
the east hank and failing started "a
wade Across But the current threat.
ened 10 swesp her of her feet and
sha was forced 10 re,urn She went
fore her hair and nraved M she fell
sxbsustsd Sba Law for a time ON the
ground tilI burning cedar fell nea,
her rousiug her, Again she ran tc
tho water. holding her baby up tc
those ON the other bank. There being
no sign Of aid, she finally hunted up
log, tied the baby on II with shaw
ana then pushed 1t out into the stream
with n MOLE in tho hone that an eddy
would carry II across Rut tho loo
ROLLED over and ov.r and tho shaw
came loose and IN. chiId dIssnnoa rad
A. ,h, Ar ,,,,, ,,,o,.r ,h. n,o,ha,