The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-09-17
Fire in Pile of Cord
Wood Stops Tacoma
St. Cars for Hours
Business in City Practically Suspended Because
BlaNe RACES Directly Under High Tension
Wires = Burns Over Large Area at Edgewood
Women Help to Fight Flames, Which Are
Finally Subdued.

Because a forest fire which rag
ed at Edgewood yesterday was al
lowed to reach a pile of 600 cords
of wood alongside the Interurban
depot there, traffic on the Inter-
urban and the Tacoma street car
lines was suspended for several
hours, and residents of this city
without power or light
for some time. Telegraph and
telephone communication suffered
for several hours also and all bus.-
ness places depending upon elec-
tricity for power and light were
seriously inconvenienced.
Business Suspended.
Had it not been for the cord
wood catching fire, nothing more
than the ordinary damage of
forest fire would have resulted,
and Tacoma citizens would hardly
have been interested enough to
iean the location of the fire. But
when the high tension wires of
the Seattle-Tacoma power lines,
which ran directly above the
pile of cordwood, were
crippled because of the fire, busi-
ness in Tacoma was practically
The Interurban cars
which left Tacoma at 1:10, 2:10
and 3:10 p. m. were held up near
and did not resume
until after 8 o'clock last
night. The first Interurban car
from Seattle 10 reach Tacoma
after IL. O'Clock yesterday noon,
at $3.50 p. m. The street
cars in Tacoma were held up from
o'clock till $40 because of lack
of power and telephone and tele-
graph communication was cut off
for several hours.
The cordwood was stacked
alongside the right of way of the
car line, stretching nearly two
blocks long, and had the fam IS
been kept away from II, much in
could have been
avoided. The blaze, which started
about a quarter of a mile west of
Edgewood, was allowed to reach
the wood, however, and the heat
at this point became so intense
that 1t was but a matter of few
minutes before the high tension
wires became crippled, with the
result that people In Tacoma were
the real sufferers. Nearly all Of
the cordwood was destroyed.
Women Fight Fire.
The blaze was first noticed
about 10 O'Clock in the morning
by Mrs. David Davies, and she i'm
sent a call to Milton
asking for assistance. A high
shifting wind in the meantime
famed the flames in every direc-
ton until the. entire town was
by a veritable wall of
fire. For four hours the battle
with the flames was waged by a
few women only. Buckets and
a small garden hose were all the
instruments of fire warfare at
their disposal.
Cottages Burned.
BY noon the frame cottages be-
longing to David Davies, Lon Col
Inns and Jerry Simpson were de-
stroyed with their entire contents.
At 2 o'clock, when finally citizens
Of Milton, Jovita and the sur
country, reached the
scene, the cordwood had already
caught fire, and continued to burn
until 10 o'clock last night. The
are had by this time spread so
that 1t covered more than zoo
acres, and was extending in every
direction far back into the timber.
rhe volunteer fire fighters 81 cceed-
ID in keeping the flames from the
homes owned by Alex Blair, o. S.
0strem, p. r. Smith and several
others.
Still Smoldering.
The rain, which began to fall
about o'clock last evening, help
ID considerably to subdue the
lanes. This morning the fire
vas still smoldering In the woods
lbout three-uuarters OF mile
Iouth of Edgewood, but no seriousI
famaee WAS fhraatanad