Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-10-12

thon county has experienced such a
dry spell as it has passed through this
fall Grasses have been burned to a
crisp and the woodlands throughout
the county. i Especially during the
past two weeks did the country here
abounts suffer. The sun shone like a
red ball through the dense clouds of
smope. All of last week smoke set
tied down on the city like a dense fog
and every precaution was taken to
prevent fires. It only required the
dropping of lighted match or light
ed cigarette to start fire in leaves or
underbrush.
Saturday Eve
A heavy rain came Saturday night
and Sunday morning for which many
felt thankful as they went to church
and for which more than one farmer
rendered praise. The rain afforded
farmers in some areas of the county
their first opportunity for good sound
sleep in days. The fall, although not
putting fires that had started through
out the county out, at least rendered
them no longer dangerous. Cut over
lands and wood stretches were burned
for the most part.
Over in the eastern part of the
county large groups of farmers have
been busy night and day saving homes
and preventing the spread of flames.
Hardly any part of the county has es-
capped from the disastrous results.
Near Milan, Corinth and Athens, the
whole population found it necessary
to turn out and with the assistance of
frnf fI,n vii loe five
found. The mill and yard of the Ell
lingson-Schmidt Lumber company was
entirely destroyed. The buildings on
the Bushaber farm, the barn on the
Scharl farm and the home of Mr. Croft
were destroyed near Milan. A large
confiagration threatened the village of
Corinth the latter part of the week,
and in the town of Rib Falls large
groups of farmers were on guard night
and day. Here they sought to control
the flames by digging trenches but
even this was ineffective in some
places. Back fires were attempted
when nothing else could be resorted
to. Near Little Chicago every farmer
to the south of the corner was fight
ing. Few of them had had a good
nights rest in several days, sum-
mons to the scene of the fire being
obeyed at all times. This fire, it was
stated in the vicinity, started as a re-
suit of clearing fire which, famed
by the wind, soon spread over an
eighty acre plot. At Irma in lincoln
county fire destroyed the Ed. Nelson
home. The fire broke out early in the
morning before the family was up and
five children lost their lives.
Near Spencer
The Spencer Record gives the fol-
lowing account of the fires in that vi
cinity:
"In the town of Sherman, Brighton
and Spencer extremely dangerous fires
were reported the latter part of the
week and on Sunday. About eighteen
thousand feet of pine lumber and sew
enty-fve bundles of lath, piled on the
land of Chas. Stoltenow near Coles
corner, burned Sunday night, and two
large hay stacks belonging to Frank
Martell two miles south of town, went
up in smoke the same evening. Farm
ers assembled and comparatively
fought the fire. Sunday afternoon and
evening many citizens of Spencer re-
farmers living south of town. Fires
are still burning over large area, but
are not doing much damage.
Sunday the fire which had been
burning in the fields south of Spencer
approached dangerously close to the
village. A large piece of ground was
plowed which checked the fire.
Friday afternoon fire started in the
IN.
tertainment Park but was extinguish-
ed before any serious damage was
done.
Forest fires are reported raging
| throughout Marathon and Clark coun-
ties
In Lincoln County
Stubborn fires ragged all over Lin
coin county. They created havoc
| near Bunker hill, west of Grandfather
Falls and south of Spirit Falls. Emil
Zerbe and Martin Malmin of the town
of Schley set fire to stumps and the
result was serious conf1agration. At
one time the lumber camp of the Hell
nemann Lumber company was in great
danger. Near the Pine River station
there was danger
Mayor Thieler of Tomahawk lost
$4,000 by fires south of Spirit Falls,
when one-half a million feet of logs
burned, 500 cords of pulp wood and
bark. Fires were reported as running
through timber holdings of the Alex
ander-Stewart Lumber company of
this city, the A. H. STANCE company of
Merrill, and the John Oelhafen COM
pany of Tomahawk.
The Marathon Times stated on Fri
day that there were fires on both sides
OF the c. and n W. tracks almost con-
tinuously from Marshfield Fires en-
dangered the farms of H. Bedyneck,
Charles Kierstein and Louis Knoeck
near Marathon.
These conditions existed not only in
Marathon county but in Oneida, Villas.
Price, Clark, Wood, Langlade, Portage,
Shawano, and other counties. Even
though the rains on Sunday stopped
the fires for the moment care must
still be taken that they do not flare
up again
H. Martin, who resides on route two
in the town of Kronenwetter gave
The Pilot a description of the fires
raging in the vicinity. While no
buildings were destroyed such de-
struction was averted only by the
most strenuous work of neighbors.
Every available pail, pan, key and
barrel was kept filled with water and
moved about where likely to be needed
first. At one time the fire got within
ten feet of the home of Ed Kobey who
resides in Wausau and only the hard
est kind of work by neighbors saved
these buildings. A hay stack was
49,. s..