The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-05
MANY PERSONS HAVE PERISHED
  Summary of Big Forest
 Fires. THOUSANDS ARE HOMELESS
Search in Ruins for Bodies SweIls
 Death List.
Many Acts of Herofsm Are Reported During the Time When Fernie z Was Like seetbins Fur
 mace.


 Vancouver. B. C.. Aug. 1.-The ter- ribly destructive forest fires which have swept through the Crows Nest district of the Elk River Valley in British Columbia since last Saturday. devastated a vast stretch of territory, destroying many lives and millions of dollars of property, wiping out entire towns and rendering. thousands of per- sons homeless, are still raging. but are now sweeping a wild and sparsely settled country and 1t Is believed the worst Is over.
 The flames are eating their way through the vast forests on the noun tainsides and 1t is thought they will soon burn themselves out for lack of something to destroy.
 It is impossible at this time to ar- rive at summary of the situation as regards loss of life and property, with even approximate correctness. So widespread 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 num- Der who met death in the flames is nothing more than guesswork. Scores of missing settlers are coming from Fernie. Cranbrook. Michel, Hosmer and other places. but many of these have turned up at some point far from their original hahitation and 1t is not be- lieved the death list will exceed fifty.
 Great Property Loss.
 The property loss has been very great. but this. too. Is difneult to es-' tlinate correctly A conservative val amount at between $6.000,09o and ST. eU0,0O0 Several thousand people have been rendered homeless. principally residents of Fernie, which according to all accounts is almost completely wiped out with scarcely more than a score of buildings left where once a prosperous town of 5,0O0 inhabitants
 There has sbAsn sufrsrins among the homeless. owing to the lack of food and shelter, but this has been allevi-' ated or partly reiIeved by the prompt action of the people of every city in British Columbia as well as many of those in border States. in sending both money and supplies to the burned diss tricts. This aid has been most gen. erous and the temporarily destitute people will be adequately and prompt ly provided for. Means of communtca- tfon with the burned section has been most difficult, Telegraph and telephone wires were destroyed for miles in places and this fact, taken together with the contradictory reports from the various towns has led to great confusion and probably much exagger- ation as to the loss of life. A sum- mary of the results of the fire has been prepared here, which is believed to be a conservative estimate as to loss of life and property destroyed. It is as follows;
 Town of Fernie, about 5000 inhab- itants practically wiped out, loss Ar GOO. 900 in property. Insurance about fifty per cent
 Town of Hosmer, about 800 inhabi- tants; partially burned, with loss of one life and S250,000 in property. Three hundred persons homeless.
 Town of Michel. believed not seri- ously burned, but four persons report ed killed and property destroyed in vicinity estimated at s1.0oo.oo0. De- tails unobtainable. owing to lack of eommu s.icivn eamkbd
 communication.
 Town. of Sparwood. saw mill village, two killed and large mills destroyed. Damage estimated at $250, ,000. Damage list and standing timber throughout the burned are estimated at from sl00Ooo to $2.o00,000.
 Many Pathetic Stories.
 Many pathetic stories of flight. and in many instances, the death of unfor- tunate settlers who were caught in the swirl of flames as 1t swept through the great forests of pine and fir, are coming In from the various points with which communication has been re-established It has not been de- termined how the fire started, whether through careIessness or design, but once it has gained headway, 1t swept with almost incredible speed, at times eating up the timber as if it were dry finder. lighting up the whole country at night and filling the atmosphere with a choking smoke that often hid the sun view and turned daylight al- most into night.
 Superintendent Hussey of the pro vincial police. has been sent by the gov ernment of British Columbia to the fireswept region and he is now in charge of the relief work in East Kot- tenay, acting with the local authori- ties. The Dominion authorities offered to send a detachment of Northwest mounted police into the devasted re- zion to preserve order but thus far the provincial authorities have had the situation well in hand The large number of foreigners employed in the mines in that district have given no trouble and no footing has taken place, as the fire left little of value to loot telegram from Mayor Fink. of Cranbrook, says 2,00O Fernie refugees are there and that he has no definite | information as to who or how many perished.