Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-08-03
WIPED OFF MAP
 BY FLAMES.
Bush Fire Burns Up Cana
 dian Towns.
BERNIE IS DESTROYED.

People Driven From Homes by Blaze
 and Compelled to Camp In Prairies.
 Mere Than Hundred Lives Report
 ed Lost, and Damage to Property
 Will Mount Up Into the Millions.
 Only Six Small Shacks Left Standing
 In Fernie-Fire May Cross Boundary
 Line Into Montana.
 Winnipeg, Man., Aug. 3.-As result of bush fires that still rage for many miles, Fernie, E. C., is wiped off the map; Michel, fourteen miles distant, was reported in flames and the fate of Hosmer, Olsen and Sparwood, inter- vening towns, is in doubt, as they are cut off from communication. More than a hundred lives are re- ported lost, seventy-four of them in Fernie. A territory a hundred square : miles in extent is a seething mass of flames. Through it are scattered hun : dreds of lumbermen and prospectOrs so IudL tut dCIuul lUSS Ol ll1C III hot bS known for days Much property ot the Canadian Pacific and the Great Northern railways is destroyed, includ- ing bridges and rolling stock, so that : it is impossible to enter or leave the burning area. Inha abitants of the af. fected towns have fled to open country to seek safety. The railway companies have placed all available trains at the disposal of refugees, and unless there is change of wind the whole of the Crows Nest Pass country will be abandoned to the flames.
 No Estimate of Loss Possible.
 There is no possibility of estimating the loss of life and property which will result, for the flames are driven by half gale, making it impossible to put up a fight against their advance. The confagration is the greatest which has ever visited Canada. The proper ty loss already is estimated at S25OO, GOO.
 For the past month forest fires have been raging in the mountains of the Elk river valley country, but they have not been considered seriously. Two days ago heavy wind sprang up from the west and the flames appeared over the crest of the mountains to the west of Fernie. They ran down the noun tainside and before a fire guard could be organized had entered the town. Within an hour the town was doomed. and the inhabitants sought safety in flight, leaving everything behind them. Four hours the exodus continued. the destination being a small prairie in the valley three miles south of the town. Three thousand persons camp. ed there in the open.
 Hills a Mass of Flames.
 The hills in all directions are a seething mass of flames. cutting off every avenue of escape. The fire spread with unprecedented rapidity. and it Is feared that several parties who tried to get through the pass have been cut of. Families have-been separated, and there is at present no means of checking up the fatalities
 At Fernie the only buildings remain ing are six small shacks on the banks of the Elk river. the offices of the Crows Nest Coal company The of- : fees of the Canadian Pacific railroad ' and Great Northern are gone. together 1 with all of the rolling stock in the yards, the sleeping car Osceola being the only car left. One hundred cars of coke, the property of the Great Northern, are gone. and the stock piles of coal and coke. holding about half million tons. are in flames. It is now feared that the fire may get in the mines themselves. several of which gre open in the neighborhood. This will mean incalculable damage. as the whole of the valley is underlaid with coal.
 Fire May Cross Line.
 At present the fire is following the crest of the mountain chain above Sparwood. eating down into the val leys on either side IL is travelling at a tremendous rate and unless there is change of wind will cross the boun- diary into Montana soon. There are thousands of miners and prospectors' claims in the track of the fire. all of which are in peril
 Fire fighting apparatus is of no available use. for the air is filed with fragments of burning wood. and sheets of flames seem to leap ahead of the confagration as if the air itself were in flames. The heat Is intense. and many of the fire fighters have gone down
 The whole population of the region is clearing oGt. Fire is not the only danger which the people of the burn ing area have to face. Starvation has been added to the terrOrs. When the people left their homes for the protec- ton camps little or no provisions were taken. and now therc are some 6.OO0 on the prsiries with nothing to eat. Measures are being taken 10 send aid to them
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