Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-13

inc HoItHeII lAottN Hicuituhh anu -
Pacific coast region is far worse than
ut any time in the last six years., there
is little general appreciation of the
fact throughout the country. according
70 information gathered by the National
Lumber Manufacturers association. SO
MANY hundreds of fires have been re-
ported and so many brief accounts OF
them published that the fires have
come to be accepted as part of the
daily routine, just as bloody battles
were during the war.
at requires a survey Of the volumi-
nous reports collected by the National
Lumber Manufacturers association TO
get an adequate impression of the dam
age that has been done and the extent
Of the menace that existed. and, to
some degree. still exists" says an ac-
count circulated by the association.
Possibly the greatest actual dam
age to virgin standing timber has been
outside the boundaries of the United
States and on the Canadian side. in the
Pacific coast region. One fire IN
British Columbia destroyed 6O,O0O,OD0
feet of the finest timber. So numerous
have been the fires in that province
that the lieutenant governor of British
Columbia ordered cessation of logging
operations on Vancouver island in order
10 release the employees loT IRE iisut-
ing.
$1,000, 600 in idaho
While there has been no such single
ease of damage on the American side,
the fires have been even more numer-
Gus and have covered a larger area.
including much of the timber region of
eastern and western Washington. Ore
gon. Idaho and Montana. One nun
dred and fifty thousand acres have
burned over in Washington, and the
property loss in Idaho is placed at 81
10000. Some virgin forest and tens
Of thousands of acres of cut over lands
have been burned and large quantities
of second growth timber have been de-
stroyed, as well as great quantities of
logs. many camps and much equipment.
While cut over fire damage does not
measure into relatively large sums in
terms Of present value. it must be re-
membered that destructive fires on the
cut over lands mean loss of mature
timber for the next generation and,
sometimes. destruction of the soil. One
calculation has it that actual or po-
tential timber sufficient for 100000
homes has been burned in the last 80
days.
."The season has been exceptionally
dry throughout the Pacific northwest,
with the result that fires are very
easily started. In one instance a spark
from a donkey engine used in logging
operations started a fire which covered
10000 acres Of land. destroyed
! 5000. 900 feet of saw timber. four
logging camps, 10 donkey engines. one
locomotive. 50 flat cars, 20 houses and
three automobiles. Occasional small
showers have sometimes aggravated the
situation, because of the accompanying
lightning and resulting new fires.
Fire Burning Everywhere
From almost every small section of
the northwest timber belt come tales
of fire after fire and endless accounts
of the struggles of forest rangers and
patrols, loggers. saWmill employees and
citizens in general, exerting themselves
to exhaustion to check the flames.
Here are u few recent reports taken
at random.
AT Newport. Washington. there
were two separate fires. At Potlach,
Idaho. II great fire along Floodwood
creek spread for many days and was
fought by 800 men. One phase of this
and other battles with the fires in
northern Idaho. was that the fire
fighters went on strike. Two fires east
of st. Maries. in Idaho, burned over
c.VoV dtiSs. tDdtt SItdt white pine
holdings and required the heroic ef-
forts Of 300 fire fighters to check it.
In the Blue river country of the
Cascades in Oregon. a fire threatened
some of the finest timber in that sec
ton and was only checked after a des-
perate effort by a large number of
men. There were numerous fires in
various other parts of Oregon. one of
them for Il time threatening the rich,
agricultural Hood river valley. Many
fires were reported in Columbia and
TillamOok counties.
I'm western Cowlitz county. Wash
ipgton. the Eastern & Western Lum-
Der company had to suspend all opera
tons and concentrate on fire fighting
for many days.
"A fire in the Cascade mountains,
believed to have been started by berry
pickers, endangered the Seattle city
light and power lines. A bridge was
destroyed on the Eatonville branch Of
the Chicago, Milwaukee 4 st. Paul
railway. There were Vany fires in the
Snoqualmie national forest, but the
worst Of them was brought, under con-