New-York tribune., 1908-09-20
FIRES UNDER CONTROL.
CatshiH Regions Out of Danger
Grant Cottage Threatened.

ALBANY. Sent 1e-CoIonel William T. Fox.
State Superintendent of Forests. who has been in
the Catsklls directing the fight against the for
est fires returned here tonight He reports that
all the fires there now under control
New York State is threatened with forest fires
which may equal those in 1908. when several lives
were lost and millions of dollars worth of proper
" destroyed, according to a statement made to-
day by John K. Ward, counsel to the State Forest
Fish and Game Commission The forest fires
| raging in the Adirondacks spreading rapidly,
and if the present drouth upstate continues for a
few weeks, Wr Ward says. a serious sttua-
tion is sure to develop In 1903 the fires extended
! hundred thousand acres of forest lands
An unusually large number of forest fires have
occurred within the last few months due to the
| dry weather conditions. The fires now burning
| extend thousand acres of land in the
! Adirondacks and nearly one hundred acres in the
Catskills Appeals for help from the state au-
thorfties are being received daily at the office of
the State Forest, Fish and Game Commission
The fires are principally along the Mohawk &
Malone and the Ottawa railroads. in Hamilton
Herkimer. St. Lawrence and Franklin counties
and along the Delaware & Hudson. in Essex Coun-
ty Nearly all are on land covered with brush
and from which the lumber has been cut In
only few places. 1T is reported. have they
reached the timbered state lands being confined
principally private lands. They are. however.
rapidly encroaching the tmbered state lands
The threatening fires appear to be at Beaver
River partly private and partly on state lands.
in the town of Minerva Essex County. near where
the Cedar River empties into the Hudson: Pierce
field Nehasane and Kildare.
Mr.. Ward says the fires generally result from
sparks from passing locomotives and the careless
ness of hunters in failing to extinguish properly
camp fires. He recommends the proper screening OF
the smokestacks of the locomotives in the noun
tains
Mr.. Ward believes that. outside of rain the only
thing that may prevent the present fires from
reaching the proportions Of former forest
fires is the excellent state fire patrol established
by the State Forest. Fish and Game Commission
Every town in the forest preserve counties is di
vided into districts. each of which has fire war
den who has the power by Law to order
able bodied man and boy assist in putting out
forest fires The men thus drafted paid jointly
by the state and towns. The present fires. how
ever are spreading pidly that fire wardens
are having difficulty in getting sufficient number
of men
The authorities advised to-day from Glens
Falls of 8 fire extending from Stony Creek down
the west side Of the Hudson River. In response 20
appeals for assistance. Assistant Chief Forester
Woodruff teIegraphed the nearest fire warden to go
to the fire with many possible.
Saratoga n. Y. Sept. i9 Forest fires in the
town of Greenfield. Saratoga County are within
five or six miles of Mount McGregor, where is stu-
ated the Grant cottage. in which President Grant
died and which is preserved by the state. The
winds have been blowing i'll opposite direction
from the mountain but change in their direction
coupled with continued dry weather. will threaten
the cottage
Glass Factory Mountain. in the western ps of
the county is afire. Residents of the town of
Providence, in the north part of the county. have
got the fires in that town under control after much