The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-09-11
ghting the Fire Demon i'm the National Forests

. mont n hundred miles wide has
cnr,np through 1dnho and Mon
scoYe of prosperous towns OF 20
n. Haye been licked up as chafH.
= rnrumunit!es nostllng In Guict
ka~o oftered their barns and hay
- the demon. Millions Of ncIes
.EorT timber OF inestimnble vnlue.
= aestruyod, A great III scar
= ssared into tho map uf tho nn-
*aiince, Idaho. oity In iha PAN
6sn been snuHcd out, Its people
an burned bY the ccore as they
4 fheir beds. Mothers with babes
4 haye fed Into tho darkness huff /
dtropg men havo gone forth tOl
ID WITH the donon ana ilrve been
1 81 the hamcs bnd lost their lives.
~fIiaree hayo suffered llaawlsc. The
4 smoke has sottlod down over tive
Refusacs have boon driven into
ana ny tho ilamos and thcro have
.,ffocarcd by the ernola. dying by
=. face down in .he water. Train |
Va become mighty heroeg in their |
~ 10 save tho isolated eommunj- |
Il have run heir cngipcg into the |
xEa o! death Itself, Life In tho
'I<fed fncc to face with death. has |
'oturcd every day. rising 10 mighty |
m or dying IN miserable fright. |
|onal tragedy has been running for |
|fh's engagement, and the end Is
Great Fro Brigade.
d brigade five thousand strong has
MONTH been wrestling with the de-
4 The flames In the great forests
vest. The flames that have de-
The giants OF the wilds have in
nv burned the good money of I'm
Ia for K cost ten thousand dollars
"a maintain the forces during the
u the fight Incidentally they have
Intention TO that nre company
he government maintains for this
nrpose and which is tho greatest.
q lis kind In the world.
\ month the fires have ragged In
.Fest and most Isolated forests Of
sIl--those at the northern end of
Ra& Rocky mountain chain In the
Stntes. where Montana, Idaho
|aBhIngton near Canada The
afer national forest In Idaho has
4, On the Flathead Indian reser-
n Montana the demon has staIked
as he has in the Lewis and Clark ]
f The Glacier national park, newly
1 has been threatened, The loss
ntcly owned holdings In the state
|hington are without a precedent.
" as July the owners of timber .
|Igan and Wisconsin reported that !
oe9cs mounted into such millions I
/ had never known before. LandsJ
ley had bought for so cents an
I'd held until they were worth Sc
|ra atill holding for a greater lum-
1Ine, are now denuded, arc black
|0sfes and worthless
The greatest fight OF them all Is
hlch has been going on near the
Ia border during the past month.
Fest service fire fighters for the
dlstrict have been concentrated,
abie- bodied man available who
lake employment has been i'm
Finally all the United States
h Ia Montana and Idaho. sixteen
les in all have been called and
|lle has ragged TO the death.
Death Toll Heavy.
year the death toll has been
but the fires were in the noun
|Iltudes. There has been occas-
ping out Of isolated communities,
YES and towns. Such quantities
n timber were never before
inc season has been the dryest
~ years In the west and il Is
|afe summer and early fall when
E1nd Is strewn with dead leaves
l5s that the danger is greatest.
ole west has been like a tinder
d here q spark from an engine,
~ match Of cigarette smoker,
NC fire OF a camper left burn
soon sea Of flames has en-
the country,
\ other seasons in recent years
lst rangers OF the government
'cceeded in keeping down the
1n the national forests and the
damage has been done to pri-
'Idings, But this year the fire
2 run riot throughout the land
D Vigilance Of the professional |
While holding the fiend in check,
oe6n able TO completely avoid his
ION. For Of all the fro fighting
IN the world. that maintained |
government Is the largest, the V
71s and most hedged about with b
OF romance and adventure that
y attractive. The fire station Is "
3pln high up In some mountain II
Inc fireman Is the. graduate cow 81
pea ranger. and his equipment Is Il
-ns pony an ak and shovel. Il
Hauons are to be encountered | a
to1y miles and the force at a "
ICON Is one ranger. Yet with /,
p1 an arrangement there is an o.
|eFed amounting In all to 1GS. 900 e
y and extending from Mexico to a
10 cover 1t there arc 1901 men, IL
assistant rangers and guards. Il.
SraVes, chief of the forest SER T