Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1911-07-19
FOREST FIRES RAGE
TWENTY DIE AND 1000 RENDERED
HOMELESS BY FLAMES IN
NORTHERN MICHIGAN.
MANY PEOPLE ARE MISSING
Property Loss at NOscoda and Ausabie
Reaches So ,C0o, o0o-casuaIty List
Around North, Bay, Ontario,
Reported Heavy.

Detroit, Mich.-The forest fires IN
northern Michigan are still spreading,
but not nearly as rapidly as for the
past few days owing to the dying
down of the wind.
The first refugees from Oscoda and
Ausable have arrived in Detroit. They
escaped from their burning cities on
a steamer which was atire when 1t
left its dock 1t was the Nike, owned
by Edward Hines, the Chicago lumber
man, who sent word that human lives
always were to be valued above prop
erty, and to remain at the dock un-
til there was no chance to save any
more.
Some definite estimates Of loss OF
life now are made. In the two burned
cities there are at least twenty known
dead. Many others are missing. The
loss in those two cities alone Is $2,-
100000.
The town latest to be attacked is
Waters, which is near Roscommon.
Appeals were sent out and shortly
afterwards communication was lost.
Dispatches from Frederick, seven
miles away, say that the town must
be entirely in flames, for the light
from the fire is as bright as though
it was only across a street. The last
word from the town was that all the
lumber yards We're afire. No trains
are running either way.
An Ausable dispatch says that
about one hundred residences remain
in that city, but that every business
building of every description was de-
stroyed. More than two thousand are
homeless. A general appeal has been
sent to the people of the state. for
help. Bay City is supplying food, and
will be able to do so for several days.
In Detroit preparations are being
made TO send wearing apparel and
other necessities.
A lumber camp near Grayling was
burned, and one man is reported dead.
Orders were issued for three com;
panies of militia to be sent to the
burned. district. The soldiers will be
used only for making tenting abodes-
for the homeless and for such other
rescue work as may be necessary.
The fires now have attacked II
counties, though not covering any OF
them completely. They have broken
out in widely. separated localities. The
intense heat of the last month has
made the woods Sc dry that the slight
est carelessness in the lumber camps
will start fires that cannotS be con-.
trolled. The counties which have
been affected are: Emmett, Cheboy-
gan, Pressure Isle, Otsego, Montmoren-
cy, Alpena, Altoona, Oscoda, Crawford,
Roscommon, Ogemaw and 1osco.
That part OF Ontario bordering on
Lake Huron also is being devastated
by forest fires A dispatch from To-
ronto says advices received there give
estimates of fifty dead and hundreds
missing, and that it is expected the
total of lives lost will be hundreds. At
Porcupine thirty men. and women
were driven into the lake by wall of
flame and drowned. Kelso, Cochrane,
South Porcupine and Pottsville have
been practically wiped from the face
of the earth.
Every mining camp from Dome to
Whitley is gone. Men, women and
children lack the bare necessities Of
life There are thousand of refugees,
many of them centered at Golden
Gate, which escaped the main path
of the flames The Ontario govern
ment railway is giving all possible
aid both in shelter and food.