The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-27
Party of Fire Fighters Long
Believed Lost in Sea of
Flame Heard From.
FORESTER GRAVES TALKS
OF FIRES COSTLY LESSON
Points Out Necessity of Being
Able to Check a Blaze While
1t Is Young.

MISSOULA, Mont, Aug. 26.-Dis
trict Forester w. B. Greeley received a
dispatch at II O'Clock tonight announc-
ing the safety of the missing party of
fifteen under Ranger Joseph R. Hahn,
The message was dated Iron Noun
tain, Mont, and came from Ranger
Haines who left last Tuesday for the
headwaters of the st. Joe river in
search of the Hahn party.
In addition to the good news con-
corning the Hahn party District For
ester Greeley also received further re-
ports reducing the list of dead and
missing employees Of the forestry serv-
ice. These reports straightened out
some confusion in previous kilograms
and reduced the number Of known dead
to 73 and the missing to 81. The list
of known dead now includes the fol
lowing: Idaho, 81; at Big Creek, Is;
at Setter Creek, "a; at Placer Creek,
16; at Rocks camp, /; at Pend
Oreille, 2.
Montana, 10: At Cabinet, 4; at Bull
lion mine, 8.
Cause of Confusion.
Heretofore the forestry Office has not
included the dead at the Bullion mine
in Montana, being under the impression
that these men were not In the employ
of the government, but tonight's de-
velopments showed that they had been
engaged to fight fires.
The list Of missing includes the fol-
lowing: At the Setter Greek camp, );
Ranger Thenon S crew at Indian Lake,
"a; Ranger Hollingshead IS crew on Biz
Crock, %. z-e...-- eg4--
1t is confidently expected that news
will be received IN a day or two that
the Thenon party is safe and there is
no anxiety concerning it.
Among the missing members of Hol-
lingshead's IS crew it is thought that
some OF these are IN the hospital at st.
Joe, Idaho. Ranger Hollingshead has
returned to the forest to rescue the I'M
accounted for members of has party and
no definite information is obtainable as
to the number of his men in the hos
pital.
District Forester Greeley said tonight
that the condition in the different dis
tricts where fighting the flames has
been resumed are very favorable and
the flames are gradually being con-
trolled.
general review of conditions
pertaining to the present forest fires
in Montana and Idaho was given
to the Associated Press tonight by
United States Forester Henry S.
Graves. In his statement Mr.
Graves said that while the situation
was still critical, rapid headway In con-
trolling the fires is being made. He
believed that between eighty and ninety
men employed by the forest service had
been killed
AS q lesson he said the fires indicated
most urgent need for adequate fire pro-
lection in a complete system of roads
and trails, enabling ready transporta-
phone lines for quick communication
Means Of Protection.
With m adequate system of roads,
trails and telephone lines tho forests
can, In his opinion, be successfully pa
trolled and protected. "Experience.
he said. Hshows the urgency of rapidly
carrying the work to completion and
the need of necessary funds for it''
Mr.. Graves 8 statement in full fol
lows;
"During the present year the forest
fires on the national forests have been
the most serious since the forests were
established. This has been due to the
very severe drought which in certain
regions Of the northwest is the worst
experienced for many years. The for
ests have been extremely dry, and there
have been almost constant high winds.
Under these conditions small spark
Is sufficient to start severe fire in
very short time. The forest service has
main tanned an increased fire patrol,
especially along railroad rights of way
and other points where fires arc likely
to start. Innumerablo fires have sprung
up, some starting within the national
forests and many on private lands ad-
joining them,
Thousands Of Fires
"The patrolmen have been able to cx-
tinguish the bulk of those starting near
the roads and trails before they reached
any considerable proportions. Thus, in
this district. over 5000 fires have been
put out in their incipiency by tho forest
of considerable size which have been
extingnished. The majority of the fires
started by or near the railroads were ex.
tinguished through the quick work of
the forest rangers and the pntrolmen
by the railroads
no nreS starting In the less acceS
sible portions of the forests could not
be reached rs quickly aud consequently
many of them became we'll developed
before the fire fighters could reach
them. Since the establishment of the
forests the forest service has
boen constructing trails and the tele-
phone lines in the forests as rapidly as
Ibe sums appropriated by congress per.
nitted- These trails opened up the for.
,sts. for communication enabling access
10 fires which might be started