Evening star., 1923-09-18

Continued from First Page.)
apparatus I'm Berkeley. Oakland and
nearby cities was rnobilized and hur-
ried to the scene of the conflagration.
The utmost confusion reigned in the
hre zone and in the district for blocks
surrounding that laid waste by the
flames
Many householders stuck TO their
posts with garden hose or buckets,
striving vainly to halt the fires attack
on their homes, until they were driven
away by the encroaching flames.
Many fraternity and sorority houses
OF the University of California were
destroyed as were homes of several
instructors, although the institu-
tional structures themselves were not
harmed. Hundreds If university men
engaged in the fight to check the
flames.
Soldiers Restore Order.
Toward evening chaotic scenes
which marked the afternoon became
fewer. and order grew out of the
excitement attending the destruction.
The arrival of 100 soldiers from Fort
Scott rapidly eliminated much of the
confusion.
On Hearst avenue firemen used
dynamite to check the flames that
had approached almost within strik-
ing distance OF the residence of the
president of the University of Cali
Among the homes reduced to ashes
are those of Benjamin Ide Wheeler.
president emeritus of the university,
and John Howard Taylor, architect
the Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Tau
Omega, Phi Kappa Sigma and Theta
Phi. The sorority houses consumed
were the Zeta Tau Delta, Delta Zeta
and Alpha Sigma Delta.
In Scenic avenue the palms lining
ha cd ~
flying sparks. Fleeing refugees were
endangered by these huge torches
which toppled into the street.
Water supply Lacking.
In a statement. Mayor Frank D.
Stringham declared that proper
water service and supply probably would
have averted the disaster.
The catastrophe had been long
feared by the city, he said, owing to
inadequate water mains.
With the city hall as headquarters,
Police Chief g. d. Lee immedi lately
mobilized a force of several hundred
deputies, including hundreds of Uni
versity of California students, who
assisted in policing the devastated
zone, removing household goods, and
fighting at least two small fires which
broke out after the large conflagra-
tion was placed under control.
When darkness fell Berkeley Hir-
tually was an armed camp. with 700
soldiers of the regular Army and the
National Guard on duty. A solid cor
don of armed men surrounded the
burned area with orders to shoot
looters. Only a few scattered in.
stances of looting were reported, pc.
lice firing at suspects in one instance.
AS the fiafFes advanced through the
thick growth of trees on the north
east slope OF the ridge and topped
the crest they struck a southeastward
course down the slope through the
residential district. Here and there
they skipped a residence or turned
sharply at right angles. leaving one
side of a street in flaming ruin. while
houses on the opposite side of the
street stood intact.
Checked at University Gates.
AT the very gates to the grounds Of
the University of California the fire
was checked.
Falling transmission lines created a
tangle of wires on the streets in the
fire area. When the giant trees lining
the streets burst into fame from fly.
ing sparks many crashed to the pave
ment and formed impossible barriers
to automobiles. carrying fire fighters
and relief workers. Burning cinders
were sprayed about by the wind as
house after house was eaten away by
the roaring flames, and this hampered
the work of those struggling to pre-
vent the spread of the fire,