Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-09-19

FOREST FIRES
Still Raging in Vicinity
Of Augusta,
Bad Ones at Togus Pond
And Granite Hill. .
Report Of Fire on the Sidney Bog
Was incorrect.


long continued drought and of the
oke-filled atmosphere resulting
from the forest fires which are burning
in every direction and causing all
| amount of destruction which cannot as
yet be estimated. While the smoke
which fills the air is due to the fires
which are in progress all over Maine in
general it is also intensified by 9TH
ers which are now raging In kennebec
county and have been in progress since
the first of the week Yesterday the
smoke reached it's greatest density and
was SO thick that it caused "a smarting
sensation to the eyes and almost hid
the sun during the morning hours,
giving it the appearance of shining
through a bank of fog, only the sun
looked red instead of white.
The two most serious fires in this
vicinity are one in the woods at To
gus pond and another at Granite hill
on the Winthrop line of the Lewiston.
Augusta g. Waterville Street Railway,
both of which are threatening prop
erty in those sections. The latter fire
started Thursday in the woods on the
Manchester side of the hill and on the
south side of the railroad track. and
since that time has given those who
have been trying to stop 1t marc
fight. Men from the quarrieS and from
the HalloWell fire department worked
hard all day Thursday but We're handl-
capped by a scarcity OF water ana the
fact that the fire ate it's way beneath
the surface by stumps and roots and
was thus impossible to reach.
Thursday night the men succeeded in
killing out the blaze in sight and
it was thought that they had it under
control, but during the night it broke
out again and yesterday morning was
blazing worse than before and threat
ening to sweep over large area IN
case Il strong wind should spring up.
A big crew of men from the quarries
was set at work fighting the flames
and they We're assisted by q stream of
water frorl 1urn-, at the quarry, but
while tn, j ...i good work against the
fire on the surface it was still making
it's wa* underground, breaking out at
interv ais, and last night it looked as
if there was a lot of work ahead for
those who were fighting it.
The reports received last evening
concerning the woods fire which has
been raging along the north shore of
Togus pond since Monday night were
more encourag ing than those of any
day during the week and in response
to an inquiry by telephone at about 1
o'clock it was learned that the men at
that time had the fire under control
{, the fire was working to large eX-
tent underground. however, it is hard
w hoped that it win be completely ex-
tinguished until rain comes.
The fire has burned over a large area
between the pond and the North Bel
fast road and also along the branch
road leading toward Weeks Mills. Yes
terday it crossed the North Belfast
road to land of George Pierce and at
one time threatened his buildings, but
by hard work on the part of the men
engaged in fighting the fire and by
running burrows With plows the dan
ger was averted. None of the cottages
on the shore of the pond We're in dan
ger last evening, and unless high winds
should set in it is thought that the fire
can he controlled until rain comes.
1t was reported yesterday that the
Sidney bog was on fire but 1t was
learned by telephone last evening that
such was not the case and that so far
as was known there We're no forest
fires within the town limits nor IN that
section. The people of the town of Sid
ney are very anxious as are others
everywhere on account of the extreme
dryness of the ground, and are es-
pecially anxious regarding the posi-
bility of fire on the bog, as this tract
of land covers a large sarea and should
a fire get started on the bog it would
he next to impossible to put it out, both
because of the fact that owing to the
formation of the bog the fire would
work down fully three feet into it, and
because the fire would be a hard one
to fight on account of the dense smoke
which it would generate. The last time
that the bog caught fire the men found
it almost impossible to fight the fire
on account of the suffocating fumes of
the smoke. A gentleman from Sidney
said last evening that should the bog
catch fire under present conditions 1t
would mean the destruction of large
amount of property upon the farms ad-
joining.
Another report which reached the
CITY Yesterday was that forest fires
were ra ging in the vicinity of the town
of Monmouth. but the report seems to
have been without much foundation,
for the only fire which could be located
in that section was one that was said
to be in progress on Coftin's bog. near
Leeds, and about FIVE miles from Mon
mouth.