Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-03

WINNIPEG. Manitoba August 3.-The
latest estimate of the dead i'm the Elk
River district by bush fires which have
been raging from Michel to Fernie is 15O
persons.
The property loss is s5.0OO.OoO in Fernie
Six thousand inhabitants of that city are
homeless. The residents have been taken
in trains 10 places Of safety and are now
destitute.
Thousands of dollars have been sent
by western Canadian cities this morning
to the relief of the destitute. Medical
supplies are greatly needed.
Fernie with its lumber mills and rail-
way terminals, is wiped out. The fire is
still raging around Hosmer and Spar
wood. Michel is safe, the wind having
dropped last midnight. II gale springs
up that city will be again in danger soon.
Seventy men in the camps Of the Elk
River Company perished
Ten cottages, two coal offices, the West
ern Canada Grocery, the coal companys
Fernie. Within fifteen minutes Of the
time the fire broke into the city the place
was a mass of swirling flames.
Catastrophe at Fernie. ;
A special from Fernie says:
LAS early as O'Clock Saturday after
noon the Fort Steel brewery. the first
large building to catch fire. was burned.
Houses in the immediate neighborhood
soon caught.
Though the people turned out imme-
diately to fight the fire, the flames spread
rapidly and the whole place was soon on
fire. Old Town. where most of the
miners resided. soon burned and then the
business portion caught. The larger
residential portion came last. after the
fine mills of the Elk River Lumber Com
pany had been destroyed
The West Ferne bridges across Elk
river could not be saved Several people
lost their lives trying to escape over the
burning bridges. The fire spread with
such rapidty that hardly anything was
saved.
Numbers of people fed to the river
banks and sought safety by wading in
the water. Others ran II the Canadian
Pacific tracks. where special trains were
waiting to convey the people To Michel.
This trip could not be made becau use the
bridge it was learned. between Hosmer
and Michel had burned out.
Heartrending Occurrences.
During the night the coal company's Of
flee was used as a distributing point for
food. Saturday night was a frightful one
of excitement. Many heartrending scenes
were witnessed. 1t was spent in getting
many of the women and children Oh the
train and starting them for Cranbrook.
During the night the wind went down.
Sunday morning many men and their
stout-hearted wives came in from the
hills, to which they had fed. to view the
smoking remains oil their city. Many
narrowing tales were told.
One woman of West Ferne had just
xxrbi i.i,
fire. She dropped dead of heart disease.
Neighbors buried her in her garden and
then ran for their lives.
In another part of the city an aged
woman, an invalid was carried d short
distance. but the heat became too great.
She begged to be left to her fate, and her
relatives. wrapping her in wet blankets.
fed toward the hills. She was borned To
death.
Besides the Elk mill. the Fernie and
Cedar Valley Companys places were
burned The Wood McNab people were
successful in fighting the flames.
Seeking for Dead.
Many miners of Fernie were up at Coal
creek Saturday afternoon searching for
the bodies of Frank Beaver and Hilch
mough. who had been killed in the acci-
dent of last Friday morning. Beavers
body was brought To the surface, but the
other could NOT be found.
4 painful surprise awaited the rescuers
when they came down to Fernie. BY that
time the place was burned and the trains
unable to move eastward.
special from Michel says no one was
injured at Hosmer when the magazine
blew up Several buildings were pur-
posely dynamited Sunday afternoon in
order to save the machine shops from fire.
Spokane Sends Help.
SPOKANE. Wash. August 3--Loaded
with provisions, clothing and bedding,
special car was attached To today't train
over the Spokane International failroad
for Fernie to aid the thousands made des-
titute by fire in the district.
The work of securing and collecting a
carload of supplies was completed in five
hours by an impromptu relief committee
headed by Acting Mayor j. /. Phillips and
President r. +. Gooodell of the chamber
of commerce.
The car contained 800 loaves of bread.
80 barrels of -four. 1000 tons of meats. 300
dozen eggs. besides other goods and bed
ding clothing, and 40 tents.
Families Separated.