Connecticut western news., 1909-04-15
FIRES
 DO GREAT DAMAGE
VALUABLE TIMBER LAND BURNED
Blaze In Woods Near Lime Rock Sta tion Burned Hundreds Of Cords of WOod-Timber In Whites Hollow Burned For Days-0ther Fires.

Fire broke out last Wednesday in the Lime Rock Station. The blaze rapidly spread up the hills driven by high winds, and burned over large acreage of valu- able timber land. w. l.. Gay had over 100 cords of fire wood piled in the woods aud it was entirely destroyed. There were several other parties owning timber land who had even larger quantities of cord wood burned and the fire did dam. age amounting to several thousand dollars. The fire started too far from the railroad to make 1t at all likely that it was started by locomotive spark. It is supposed that some careless person started a fire in the woods and that 1t rapidly spread to the timber.
 The same day there was started A fire in the timber land at Whites Hollow. This fire got such start before meaIurss were taken to check it that it was found impossible to fight it successfully. The wlnd was so high that it was impossible to back fire and at the end of the week the fire was reported as still eating it's way through the woods.
 Other fires of the week were reported. as follows:
 A lighted match dropped among leaves near Sterling started woods fire that was probably one of the most destructive that has visited the eastern part of. the state for several years. Starting on tho Thomas Finlay farm, where carpenter who was repairing fence dropped a match with which he had lighted his pipe. the fire, famed by R strong wind that at times was almost a gale, spread rapidly enst and south, destroying valu- able timber land that lay in it's path. At Porters Mills several old unoccupied buildings were b1rned. In all the fire burned over about GOO acres of land.
 In Eastford the annual forest fires have broken out and between three and four hundred acres of valuable timber land have been burned oyer between that town and Pomfert. Bush fires are also reported at Oneco where over two hun dred acres of young timber have been destroyed.
 A fire at Thompsonville that is thought to have been set by a spark from q loco motive burned over tract of about 300 acres of wood land and destroyed two large barns and two tobacco sheds be- longing to Mayro Keeney. Mir. Kes- ney's loss will amount to $5, 900 and the loss to the owners of wood lands will be several thousand dollars.
 Famed by high wind, a woods fire near New Milford that started on the ridge of mountains about A quarter of A mile north of Kent, burned over an area A mile and quarter by two miles square. and spread in the direction of North Kent. Relays of men have been fight ing the flames. In another section near there hundred acres of land was burned over, but the fire has been extin- guished.
 Up in Harwich, Mass, the fire fighting forces of four towns were called out to save the little village from being des- troyed by a forest fire two miles wide. About 900 acres of woodland had been burned over, and the house of Captain Percy Nickerson and the outbuildings of Carl Nickerson, were destroyed before the flames were brought under control.
 Another fire near the mouth of Bass river in the town of South Yarmouth hurnad ovar ahnut 9OO arras nf haavv nina and destroyed the house of Leonard Baker.