Evening star., 1936-08-12
M|NNESOTA'SF|RE
|. PERIL WORST EVER
State Forester Fears Wind
Will Sweep Forest BIazeS
Out of Control.
Py the Associated Press.

ry l!lt hSSOC4dltQ fItSS
ST. PAUL, Mimi, August 12.-Con-
ditions in Northern Minnesota. spotted
with dangerous brush and timber fires.
never have been so serious. Grover
Comet. State forester said today. He
warned the situation is growing worse
daily.
I'VE fear a high wind will whip
many of the fires out of control" said
Comet. I'VE are buying fire-fghting
equipment and getting it into the
areas as rapidly as possible, but We
can't get enough equipment.
To-day we are shopping by wire and
telephone all over the United States
in an attempt to buy all the hose
available"
Simultaneously, E. V, Willard, State
Conservation Commission, left by air.
plane for the fire districts.
Fresh Outbreak Of Fires.
Comets announcement came with
fresh outbreaks of forest and brush
fires in Minnesota and Wisconsin that
threaten lives and property.
Eight hundred men fought the Ben
nett FIRE in Upper Wisconsin as this
blaze again changed direction and
threatened both Bennett and Haw-
thorne. directly in its path. Haw-
thorne residents were ready to evacu-
ate.
There was a heavy rain last night,
but none fell in the path of the fires
In Minnesota, near the Canadian
boundary, timber and brush fire
roared out of control in the unsettled
kabetogama Peninsula country. Forest
fighters were beset with difficulty in
combating this conf1agration since it
was in an almost inaccessible region
and men and equipment had to be
transported by water.
Rush Reinforcements.
ReinforcementS we're rushed to dam
ger points along the North Woods fire
lines today as several uncontrolled
conflagrations raised apprehension
anew.
Flames that originated 20 miles
south of Superior, Wis, charred more
than 5000 acres of forests and leaped
across the Minnesota border near
Duxbury.
Two hundred men and equipment
were rushed to the aid of crew of
$50 struggling to stem the fire.
Keep Anxious Vigil.
Residents of the Chaffey, Wis. sec
tion fled. Anxious vigils we're kept in
the villages of Kingsdale and Clover
ton. MINI.
Three serious blazes worried Roseau
County rangers in the Beltrami Island
State Forest in Minnesota. C. C. C.
men and others who had been en-
ployed in the fight in other districts
were released for service there.
Fire that has swept over $1,000 acres
of timberland on Isle Royale--a vir-
tual water-bound furnace In Lake
Superior-moved within a mile Of n
Chippewa Harbor resort. A motor
ship and a Coast Guard cutter stood
by to take off family residing there,
The steamer Seminole and the naval
training ship Paducah carried 600
c. C. c. youths from Wisconsin 30
the assistance Of 1900 others seeking
to halt the wind-whipped flames.
5000 Fight Blazes.
Some 5000 fire fighters hemmed In
most of the go Minnesota forest and
brush blaZes with earth works. They
were cheered by a forecast of rain in
Wisconsin and Minnesota wood lands,
where many sections have been with
out precipitation for two months.
Northern Minnesota property losses
we're estimated at S250000 by SEN
ator George Lommen of Eveleth.
Supervisor r. U. Harmon OF the
Superior National Forest said Govern
ment expense in controlling the blazes
amounted to $4,000 to date.
The charred body of Andrew Leima,
70-year- r-old widower, was found near
Palo in Northeastern Minnesota,
where a weekend fire wiped out u
farms.