Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1908-08-06
TOWNS SWEPT
BY BUSH FIRES
BLAZE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
LEAVES MANY THOUSAND
HOMELESS.
100 LIVES KNOWN TO Be LOST
II Is Feared the Death List Will Re
the Greatest on the Continent
Since the San Francisco
Disaster.

bush fires, the town of Fernie. B. c..
is wiped off the map as a child cleans
a slate; Michel, IA miles distant, is
in flames, and the fatae of Hosmer, Oh
sen and Sparwood, intervening towns,
Is in doubt, they being cut off from
all communication.
Over 100 lives are known to have
been lost, "A of them in Fernie. A
territory of 100 square miles in ex.
tent is a seething mass of flames.
Through it are scattered hundreds of
lumbermen and p~rospectors, so that
the actual loss of life will not be
known for days. The properties of
the Canadian Pacific and Great North
ern railways are destroyed, the
bridges and rolling stock burned, so
that it is impossible to enter or leave
the burning area. The inhabitants of
the towns have fled to open districts
In the vicinity in the hope of safety.
The railway companies have placed
all available trains at their disposal
and, unless there il a change of wind
within the next "a hours, the whole
of the Crows Nest Pass country will
be left to the flames. There is no
possibility of estimating the loss of
life and property which will result.
for the flames are driven by a half
gale, making it impossible to put up
a fight against their advance.
The conflagration is the greatest
which has ever visited Canada and
ranks only with the San Francisco
disaster.
Ragged for a Month.
Fol- the past month forest fires have
been raging in the mountains of the
Elk river valley country, but they
have not been considered serious. Sat
urday morning a heavy wind sprang
up from the west and early in the
afternoon the flames appeared over
the crest of the mountains to the west
of Fernie. They ran down the noun
tain side 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 their all behind them.
All night and Sunday morning the
exodus continued, the destination be-
ing a small prairie in the valley three
miles south of the Gown.
At present 5000 people are camped
there in the open, their only protec-
ton being shelters built of brush or
blankets, while a constant shower of
sparks from the burning area kept
falling through the pail of smoke by
which they are surrounded. For a
time communication with towns to the
east was kept open, but with the
burning of the bridges across the
Elk river this way closed. Scattered
through the valley are many small
prairies and all of these have their
groups Of refugees.
Settling Mass of Flames.
The hills in all directions are a
seething mass of flames, cutting off
every avenue of escape. The fire
with unprecedented rapidity
and it is feared that several parties
who tried to get through the pass
have been cut off. Families have
been separated and there is at pres
ent no means of checking up the fatal
tiles.
In Fernie the only buildings re-
naming are six small shacks on the
banks of the Elk river, the offices of
the Crows Nest Coal Co. and the
Fixes WOODWARD house. The offices
of the Canadian Pacific railroad and
the Great Northern are gone, togeth.
or with all of the rolling stock in the
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
a million tons, are in flames. 1t is
now feared that the fire may get in
the mines themselves, several OF
which are open in the neighborhood.
At present the fire is following the
of the mountain chain above
eating down into the val
leys on either side. 1t is travelling at
a tremendous rate and unless there
Is a change of wind will cross tha
boundary into Montana within the
next IL hours. There are thousands
CT mines and ~prospectors' claims in
the track of the fire, all of which are
in peril. A slight change of wind has
occurred and Michel has been taken
out of the more direct path.