Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-09-28
HISTORIC FOREST FIRES.

The terrible work OF the flames
which have burned over and destroyed
hundreds OF thousands of acres of
timber and property to the value OF
memory other great forest tires which
have attained historic importance.
One OF the earliest of these was the
great Miramichl fire in 1925. 1t began
its greatest destruction about / o'clock
in the afternoon OF Oct Z of that year,
at place about sixty miles above the
town Of Newcastle. on the Miramichi
river. in New Brunswick. Before 10
o'clock at night 1t was twenty miles
below Newcastle. In nine hours it had
destroyed q belt of forest eighty miles
long and twenty-five miles wide. Over
more than two and one-half million
acres, almost every living thing was
killed. Even the fish We're afterwards
found dead in heaps on the river
banks. Five hundred and ninety build
ings were burned. and number OF
towns. including Newcastle, Chatham
and 'Douglastown we're destroyed. One
hundred ana sixty persons persisted,
and nearly q thousand head OF stock
The loss from the Miramichi fire Is
estimated at $500, 900, not including the
w, Inc nf tho finn her
In the majority OF such forest fires
as this the destruction of the timber
is more serious loss. by far than that
of the cattle and buildings, for it CAR
ries with it the impoverishment OF 81
whole region for tens or even hundreds
OF years afterwards. The loss of the
stumpage value of the timber at the
time of the fire is but a small part
OF the damage to thei neighborhood
The wages that would have been
earned in numbering, added to the value
of the produce that would have been
purchased to supply the lumber camps
and the taxes that would have been
devoted to roads and other public inn
provements, furnish a much truer
measure of how much, sooner or later.
1t costs "a region when it's forests are
destroyed by fire.
The Peshtigo fire of October, 1871,
was still more severe than the Mirani-
ichi It covered an area of more than
1000 square miles in Wisconsin, ard
involved a loss in timber and other
property, Of many millions of dollars
Between 1000 and 1900 persons per-
ished, including nearly half the pop
ulation of Peshtigo, at that time a
town Of 1000 inhabitants. Other fires
of about the same time were most
destructive in Michigan. A strip about
forty miles wide and $50 miles long,
extending across the central part of
the state, from Lake Michigan to Lake
Huron, was devastated. The estimated
loss in timber was about 4,000000,0 600
feet board measure, and in money over
$40 900 900. Several hundred persons
persisted.
In the early part of September, 1881
great fires covered more than 1900
square miles in various parts Of Mich
igan. The estimated loss, in property
in addition to many hundred thou
sand acres of valuable timber. was
more than $4,000 600 Over 5000 per-
sons were made destitute, and the
number of lives lost is variously essti-
mated at from $50 to 500.
The most destructive fire of more
recent years was that which started
near Hincllley, Mimi, Sept. l, 1894
While the area burned over was less
than in some other great fires, the
loss of life and property was very
were destroyed, about 500 lives were
lost, more than 1000 persons were left
destitute, and the estimated loss in
property of various kinds was $25,000,-
600. Except for the heroic conduct of
locomotive engineers and other rail-
road men the loss of life would have
been much greater.
This fire was all the more deplor-
able, because 1t was wholly unneces-
sary. For many days before the high
wind came and drove it into uncon-
troilable fury, it was burning slowly
close to the town of Hinckley, and
could have been put out.
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