Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-09-06
lconunued rom page {.

Pine an hour before it burst into
flames and on his return here re-
ported the Are to be no nearer 1.-THE
town than previously. when It Tapped
near the lumber yards andfwas stop
ped by hre breaks. Mr.. Cox couldSnot
account Tor fire starting in the mill
unless the wind changed and drove
sparks back into the town from the
northeast. When Mr.. NCox drove
through White Pine no fires were In
the immediatessvtcinity Of the saw1nills
from the weBt. AAt.
Miss Claire Nelson, after she had
been. given q minute to revive from
an almost fainting Condition, said she
could hardly understand how the Are
began. She had been watching the
main and apparently only fire to the
southwest, east and northeast, when
the sawmill burst into flames from all
sides. s&.
The seasoned sheds burned like
tnder and what they say was a
twist" In the wind soon spread the
IRE over the entire town.
Narrow Escape.
we hadn,t seem the fire at&the
minute we did, said Miss Nelson, 1--WE
iundoubtedly would have been burned
to death. We each picked up aGchild
and started by the southwest road at
the very edge OF the old fire. The fire
was 50 close to the road that we were
forced to walk single file. We
thought Tor a while that we would; be
unable to continue through the smoke,
but we younger girls, assisted:-by
men, helped the women and children
and soon the trucks met us. I
1.-THE smoke from the old fire was
so dense at the time we boarded the
trucks we were unable to see the big
fire at White Pine, westould. hear
as they swept over the dry lumber
What few cattle and horses were
left at White Pine are believed to
have persisted.
Trucks Rushed to Aid.
All available transportation was
ordered rushed to the road to Whites
pine by Adjutant General Rhinow,
who left here shortly before moor
when first reports came that the town
finally was being swept by the flames.
Six large trucks were dispatched to
the e road to pick up the refugees,
who according to the generals mes
sage We're safe outside the nre.
Troops Retire.
Orders have been sent from head
quarters here by the way of Solana to
officers commanding the troops east
OF Whitepine to Immediately aban-
don all lines except breaks and to
proceed toward McGrath.
From the top Of a seventy-f five foot
water tower at McGrath, it appeared
as if the large lumber yards at
Whitepine were af1re. The yards ex-
tend over several square acres and
more than five million feet of lumber
are stacked there.
The troops stationed between
Whttepine and Solana were also or.
dered to retire from headquarters
here.
Many Refugees.
Roads leading from McGrath, So
lana and White Pine are filled will
refugees, moving to safety under thu
guidance Of guardsmen and rangers
Throughout the fire swept region IL
sections Of Lake St. Louis, Millelacs
Kanabec, Carlton and Aitken coun
ties, the prayers of settlers are TO
calm weather and rain, but In tn
Halter particular at least the weathe
held out no hope.
No Lives Lost.
There has been no loss Of life s.
far Is could be learned early today
and in all reports received here ]
Twas emphasized that under presen
conditions there was little reason t
eEfeaf for, the safety of settlers as all
1.-THE danger zones had had ampl
warnings. RI.
IN the vicinity Of Two Harbor,
north Of Duluth, on Lake Superior
spectacular Ares were causing anxiet
and all available men were called GU
for service. East of French river,
fire originating in the brush. wa
swept on by a stiff off shore breeze.
In the valleys near Knife rive
three fires were raging. Several hun
dred volunteers in automobiles re
sponded when a man interrupted
Labor day meeting at Two Harbor
and pleaded for assistance.
Other threatening fires were nea
Onamia and Htllman.