Evening star., 1923-09-18
FIRE DEVASTATES
BERKELEY, CAL|F.;;
RAGING IN FORESTS
45 Blocks Destroyed; Loss,
$4,000, 900; 40 Hurt.
Search Ruins for Dead.
By the Associated Press.

search for bodies among the charred
ruins of the Cragmont section of
berkeley. laid waste by yesterdays
disastrous fire, is being conducted to-
uay so far without result.
Acting Chief of Police Clarence Lee
mas issued notice that all looters will
De shot, and it was announced nc
one would be allowed in the burned
area unaccompanied by a police Of
ficer.
berkeley and the rest of the East
bay district were obscured by a heavy
pail or smoke, which ,cony the
sun into a glowing red ball at dawn
today. More than $500 homeless per-
sons are facing the task of recon-
struetion. The latest estimates n ce
tie monetary loss at between $4,000. :
600 and $4,000. 900. Moro than son
houses have been destroyed ana nm
wards OF forty PERSONS were injured
Ihere are unconhrmed reports of
others killed.
Forty-Ffve BLOCKS Burned.
The, Berkeley fire department.. still,
augmented by portions of the Oak
land department and hundreds of VOL
uhteers. worked throughout the night
to keep the flames beaten back into
the burned area. They continued their
work today, as did the National Guard.
members OF the Reserve Officers'
training Corps OF the university. and
berkeley and Oakland policemen and
to guard the ruins
Forty-hye square blocks OF Rerke-
ley's most beautiful homes from fhe
university campus up the hill slopes,
by the fire, which is said to he sthe
worst experienced by any California
city since the San Francisco disaster
in 1905.
The problem of housing the home
less families and occupants of fra
ternity, sorority and apartment houses
Is now occupying the attention of civic
authorities, the Red Cross and other
organizations.
Two students were seen TO plunge
INTO vortex of fire when the roof
OF house upon which they had
climbed collapsed
Hundreds of frenzied residents fed
from the burning area as the FIRE
swept down the slope OF the hills.
.. ou1ned ITS way through the closely
eventually died down to a smolder-
ing ring OF flames encampassing the
entire area which 1T had deyas Stated
Inc prosperous residential section
was a smoky. waste.
Started as Forest Fires.
The advance of the fire, which
oToke out In brush in Contra Costa
clouds of smoke, which swent over
the brow of the hill, drivep hy y
prick wind, and blanketed Rerks,eu
throughout the day. Ae'''
inc nre was one of series Of for
est brush and grass fires, famed hv
strong northwest winds and fed hHe ~, ny
oergrowth baked to a tinder by ths nrn-
inhsed summer, which ragged in near
~ every county In northern Cali
fornta yesterday. trS
were severely damaged or destroynS
py the fames, which sprang into be-
Ing In several instances almost SyttS
out warning and quickly spread be-
ers, state fire wardens and hundreSz :
OF volunteer f1refghters.
$50 Forced to Flee.
Ell Dorado, small mining town In
Ell Dorado county. was virtually de-
stroyed and $50 persons residire
there were forced to fee. The inhab.
ftants of Colfax. in Placer county.
also PREPARED pr to fee when their town
A fire In Sonoma valley DESTROYED
the Boyes Springs Hotel and swept on
toward Fetters Springs and Ell We
rano. sist. = sN-
In the southern part of the state
Forest Supervisor Chester Jordan
called for reinforcements for the fire
fighters in the Santa Ynez river dis
trict, in the Santa Barbara national
forest II was said the situation was
the most serious since the fire started
on Septembert1. More fire fighters were
sent from Los Angeles
Little Village Burned.
woodacre, a picturesque little viii
lage ten miles from San Rafael. was
reported almost destroyed by a forest
fire which swept through Lucas val
ley.
One hundred sailors and marines
were sent from Mare Island navy yard
to fight forest fire that was threaten
ing the little town of Cordelia, twenty
miles from the navy yard.
The various fires have: burned over
thousands of acres of grazing and tim
ber lands. and hundreds of men are
participating in the fight against the
flames.
The Bergman reservoir district OF
Berkeley was completely wiped out
and then swooped down the slope to-
ward San Francisco bay and north to-
ward the University Of California.
AS the flames progressed and it be-
came certain that vast destruction
would result. all ayaila51e fire-fghting
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