The Columbus dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 19??-1922, 1919-11-12
WORST FOREST
FIRES IN YEARS
Forest Rangers Fail to Con-
quer Timber Land
Flames
MANY THRILLING ESCAPES
Settlers Endangered by Sweep 81
Flames-Reeord Loss In Mlssoula
District. w. w. Makes Treu-
Bile for Flre.F lshtera

Washington. D. C.-StirrIng reports
are coming from forest rangers fight
Ing fire In the Northwest. At head.
/ quarters here the situation Is said to
be the most critical In years. The rec
ord summer OF 1910 may have been
eQualed In the acreage burned over
and timber destroyed since June. AS
hres are stlll raging. the loss may be
greater than In that season.
There have been many thrilling 60.
capes of settlers from the sweep OF
the flames; there have been a number
Of daring rescues. Loss OF life has
been less than usual In forest fires.
One outstanding experience OF gov.
eminent fire fighters occurred In Ida
no. +. c. WIlfong. who had been de-
tailed along Crooked creek was
trapped with his crew OF three men
nj a point whore three fires met. Get
ting ont alive seemed impossible.
Their 10 horses were taken to bunch
grass Hill In the hope that they might
be saved, while the men continued to
light for their lives.
Their camp. provisions and clothes
were burned. wilfong aud his men
finally jumped into Seiway river. and
by covering their heads with wet
blankets, pulled through They found
all their horses, but one, alive, but the
pack saddles had been burned of their
backs.
Devastation In MissouIa District.
Most damage Is being done in Idaho
and western Montana. II is called the
Mlss0ula district. II is the best part
Of the country's timber remaining from
what was once thought were mex.
haustihle preserves.
II is here the burnIngs ten years ago
did most damage. The areas deyastat.
cd totaled nearly Ave millions OF acres.
More than six billion board feet OF lum-
her were destroyed and the big tree
loss was $14.SS9,724 aside from tie
ruin OF $0,0O0.oQc xvrth OF timber not
big enough 10 cut.
This loss may be trebled by the fires
this summer. They have been con
stant. Thirty Of them have each con-
sumed everything but the rocks on
areas of one thousand acres or more
until the aggregate is already several
millions, with no break In the drought
since June and with several OF the
most dangerous months to come.
Next In seriousness to lack OF rain
or water from dried-up streams Is the
scarcity OF labor. Fire fighters cannot
he found In sufficient numbers In such
nm emergency Ia the forest region. Elm
ployment offices have had to be opened
In Great Falls, Billings, Anaconda,
Butte and Spokane.
Trouble From |. w. w.
In the latter city. the I. w. w. gives
trouble to the fire rangers seeking help
Great care is exercised TO prevent any
members Of this organization from get.
ting into the forces sent to the forest
fire line. There they can give nm i'm.
inense amount Of trouble and Illustrate
efforts to put out a blaze. Their IA
vOrite way Is to create discomfort
among the crews as TO pay and food
and induce them to quit or do MS little
work as possible while the trees burn.
In spite of the care taken, some OF
these plotters have got into crews
and are doing mischief Some bosses
have been reporting TINT their men
nre laying down on their jobs" and /
have been told TO discharge them In
This is done under guard,
but formerly only to the edge OF civil.
ration. This can be done only in case
he man has worked out his transpor- 1
'ation and cost Of keep and few fall
10 do this before discovery. In that
rase the er:aeS guard must take him
% the city from whence he came.
can be done 10 him, as he has
earned bis transportation and sus-
fenance and must be taken back with
Jut expense, according to contract.
Now and 2tcS. an overzealous |. w.
". gets busy too soon in the woods. II
he has not earned his expenses, he
nay be arrested for defraudIng the
government.
Two thousand gas masks have been
oaned by the war department. to the
'orest service for trial by fire fight
RS.
While the fire situation In Oregon
md Washington Is not so serious as
n Montana and Idaho, all the crews
here are fully occupied.