Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-09-10
WHOLE RANGE
BATTLES WITH
FOREST FIRES
Six More Towns Seemed DOOM
ed-FIames Die Down With
Wind, Bringing Respite.
HlBBiNG HAS NARROW ESCAPE
Only Strenuous Efforts OF Army
of Fire Fighters Saves Me-
tropolis of Range.
FLAMES SWEEP NERCILESSLY ON
Grand Marais in Clutches of the Fire
Demon People Have No
Place to Flee To.

Duluth, Sept 9. - Fighting desper-
atelv against the forest fires that
threatened momentarily to add six
| more range towns to the blackened
ruins of Chisholm and Snowfall, prac-
ticalIy the entire male population of
the Mesaba region composed the self
constituted fire brigade that struggled
fiercely all day yesterday and late into
the night to save their homes and
property After raging furiously all
the afternoon the tiames died down
with the wind in the evening and gave
the army of fighters a chance to rest
after their strenuous work.
Safe Until Wind REEVES.
Hibbing, Nashwauk Bull, Bovey,
Coleraine and Mountain Iron, which
were considered doomed during the
greater part of the afternoon, are safe
again until the wind revives. There
is still little promise of rain and a
strong wind from any direction will
fan the uuieted flames into renewed
menace.
At ! o'clock yesterday afternoon the
anxious watchers on the southern
edge of Hibbing saw the fires that had
been smoldering all morning near the
city begin to leap and gain Roadway
under the influence of rising wind
from the south. The alarm was given
and soon all PIbbing focked to fight
the flames.
Army Fights Flames.
In d few minutes huge tongues of
fire reached across the Great Northern
spur south Of Brooklyn the little sub
urb to the southeast of Hibbing, and
bore down upon the residences in the
outskirts. An army of wOrkmen has
tened to the scene of the invasion and
with an army of nearly LOGO men the
struggle against the flames began.
Two drill pumps from the mines
were hurried to the scene and used
yer Mining company sent ten locomo-
tives 10 haul water for the fire bri-
gade, and at $50. when the cOnflagra-
ton was at its height and the strug-
gle seemed hopeless, a huge Cameron
pump was enlisted in the service, and
the flames were checked until the wind
died down and brought relief
Hibbing Has Close Call.
Brooklyn is about half mile from
Hibbing. 1t is SO situated as to form
a perfect feeder for the flames to the
south into the main portion of the
cit
the flames Hibbing would have been
doomed There are about thirty
houses in Brooklyn.
In spite of the terror that attended
the awful struggle during these criti-
cal hours in the afternoon, there was
no exodus from the threatened city.
The people of Hibbing stuck by the
ship through the worst of the fire
menace, and even the population of
Brooklyn stood its ground.
Avalanche of Flames.
At Bull one of the most threatening
fires on the range ragged yesterday
afternoon Wind from the southwest
drove an avalanche Of flames upon the
little village and for time threatened
to sweep over it. A clearing of about
a quarter of a mile in width between
the encircling fires and the outlying
structures formed a barrier that could
not be surmounted by the flames
Wind Dies Down in Time.
Saloons and business houses in
Bull were closed during the entire
day, and citizens did nothing but fight
fire The danger was greatest about 4
o'clock in the afternoon, when the
wind was at its height Mountain
Iron was another menaced town yes
terday The wind died down just in
time to keep the confagration from
sweeping mercilessly over the place.
Over 200 men were employed as fire
fighters At Nashwauk the fire ragged
furiously on the outskirts of the town
all the afternoon, but died down in
the evening.
Bovey, for the first time since the
beginning of the forest fires, was
threatened seriously with destruction
yesterday.
Strikes Terror to All.
|. The onslaught of the flames at first
struck terror to the heart of the in
habitants, but when the panic had
subsidized the people f1ocl1ed to the bat
tie ground and began to fight From
II o'clock in the morning until 5
o'clock in the afternoon, when the
wind died down, every store and bust
ness Office in the place was closed and
the women and children.
Coleraine was also threatened, but
the fires in that region were not so in
sistent. Citizens went to the rescue