THE FIRE-STRICKEN DISTRICTS,

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 97, 17 January 1908, Page 7

THE FIRE-STRICKEN DISTRICTS,

GREAT DEVASTATION \ REPORTED. I SAWMILL DESTROYED; EMPLOYEES SURROUNDED BY.FLAMES.. ! - SENSATIONAL INCIDENTS. j (BI TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL OORKEBPONDENT.) • Master ton, J&nuary 10. Tomglit thero is- an avalancho. of- fire, - running from ' Roiigokokako over Kaiparoro, in front of a living galo to the northern bcrdors of "Hastwell's.-. • The Nireaha fire commenced, Yesterday*' at Keem's in tho Valley, an&..spr£ad,'jttiis, afternoon, with wonderful,.rapidity,:.;enye'loping tho wholo country sido in. great rolling billows of blinding, dirty smoke., . . - • j TWO THOUSAND ' A'CRES' ABLAZE.Numbers of residences in ' Nireaha'. and Roiigokakako were in oxtreme danger at I six o'clock. The' , conflagration l 'Tvaß''moat i fierce at Mount liruce,' v/hich is * again a'lnass'-i of flame,, and at Kaiparoro, itho. 4 whole of■which settlement isi in- danger. Two thousand acres of dry timber may be said to be j fairly ablaze. Tho sceno was indescribably grand. Hill after hill, and valley" after valley wero'masses of living. emWs r with .fiery trees shooting'? sparks ,'and cnishing : "in all directions. ~ RUNNING .THE, GAUNTLET; • . 'Your correspondent had his - hottest. timein the past four days to-night. Attended by a: young man named M'Grogor,) oji hojsoback, ho successfully . ran the gauntliit of'tho fire a milo ■ between- -Kaiparoro .and Hastwell s,' although every sqyare-.- foot. > oil both Bides of tho road was'a mass" of -flamo)' jind all the trees wore alight. .Tho smoke, was bo thick that tho .pathway could not be; seen,bbutt t young M'Gregor proved;.to .bo a: most serviceable guide.-, The heat was most' i ntoti.se, and the travellers had to turn up| thoir coat collars to save' their nocks from' being burnt. ' i-Si; . Sottrerj on the fringe of this fire'appoared to bo in a bad way. The worst case seemed; to bo that of Mr. 'Isaacson, whose property was | devastated last woiik, when no .lost three hundred Bheijip. ! The' ifire' has? again , swept down upon huii, "arid 'hej his family",' and ""friends wero obsorved round the dwelling houso and sheds, '.-gazing'.'- into. what seemed to bo a seething"inferno": Wo were' travelling against. time,—and- could -not—stop.- - Iho other sottlers nc-ar by uro only .'slightly better off. ■ " ■ 1 KAIPARORO THREATENED. . r .Who'n I left Kaiparord that settlement,'including the creamery, the Town Hall, and* l'aulkner's Mill, was threatened} i, and steps* wore -being • taken to prfitect'' the" buildings." vuth tho gale as it wis, therp was of stopping the fire.'j Rain I'Wns and thoro were a 'few " drops"' St" half-past-' sovon, but Mr. Faulkner, who. is a boavy loser, expressed the opinion' that unless there ,was ram, or-tho wind fell, nothing but • a miracle' could save the place. Mr. Faulkner's tramlines and bridges are practically destroyed. _ Mr. R. G. Morgan, ..whom -Limet, riding in from one of his farms,: was iin ,a. s'tata;ofi partial blindness. He had tried to rescue his 150 sheep, but was unablo-to* penetrate smoke; and hre. \ To" add" toi'.jiU.. troubles, r ho. had the disappointment;' of seeing' his substantial whare and jcowyards. all Emblaze.:-, Hp; also'fears that he has lost his' entire dairy - herd.- ■ • • On another farm;,up. l^|w^b'-: %^a^knei , -8 at Kaiparoro, several.settlers , in shifting .their belori'^rigs" to 'w'hat' they' considered would be 'a.'.'safer, locality,„but-; ail. wore working in a 'grim .sort-'.pf desperate; despair. If the wind kept up' with no rain they, knew what '.a . slight. chance t-boy -hadof saving, anything.'/i ', '■ VAGARirS or THr iirl' , Mrs. Leonard Parker, who was moving her. little ones to a friendly ineighbourj roferred to tho vagaries of-tho firo, It had been through onco boforo,:,;sbo.. said,: and:.-had missed them. Now it came down again with almost no warning, : as if bent niponvpxt-or-minnting. everything in -.its ..-way. r:--.-There is no doubt that the fire travelled with-what seemed fiendish speed; This: isiwhatiseemed to unnerve settlers.-. At Harwell's I . met. several women, who asked anxiously after the whereabouts of. .a.; buggy, in which ;.it. appoared that their men lolk had. gone away to render help. I remembered-, seeingtho buggy outside Mr. Isaacson's, at which the listeners cxpres(fed;;satisfactipn"; T £. When the train 'was 1 at- the firo: was not far away from that station.Near by Mr. Wrightson had lost a lot of stock and 1500 acres of grass. Mr. Fowler had lost 200 acres of grass and 150 chains of foncing. , f" ■ ■ Fire was plentiful oh both' sides 'of' tho railway line. Thero were a few drops of rain falling just as the train loft the station. It is hoped that there; will -bo i a downpour, if only for a few hours, in order to savo los 3. MOUNT BRUCE AGAIN ATTACKED.' : . Young .M'Gregor, who 'rode through the fire from Kaiparoro, had just returned from Mount Bruce, where ho states the conflagration fi<!rcor_ than ever.- Blaz-' ing bush, lie says, makes it'as light aS'day.-' Thero is no word as-to how sottlers there are faring, hut tho remaining! mill-' .whares "are said to have all'been burned.' ENCOMPASED" BY FIRES.THIRTY ; PEOPLE IN DANGER. MILL AND WHARES DESTROYED. (BY Tl!LEGItArn—-VT-tllS ASSOCIATION.) Dsnncvlrke, January 16. Mr. Gammon's, 'Rakfiistsi~No.'~2 sawmill, - near Makotuku, together,jrith tho,.whares, stables, and cookWisc,; was. ' complotely razed to tho ground this afternoon. ■ Two men got through tho firo and report that three women,, three, children, and SO men are encompassedby...tlVo,.fire with,no. food or water. , ANXIETY AT MASTERTOM. TOWN ENVELOPED IN : SMOKE. RANGES PRESENT REMARKABLE ; stoHT.; '• ; ASSOCIATION.! j'RiaStertiin, January 16. It is many years/since Mastorton presented the appearance it;.did to-day, and this ovening tho town was a perfect cloud of smoko from tho surrounding grass and bush fires. Tho lower slopes of the Tararuas presontod. a romarkablo sight when darkness sot in, the burning bush showing- through -tho filmy smoko like thousands-of city-lights. -iTowarits ovoning tho smoko becamo: so -.thick :as to cause tho eyes of, townspeople to.;;suffer severely, and as n fickio brcezo seemed- to bo 1 working round to windward of tho firo somo apprehension bega'ur to' bo . felt. _ as to! the safety of tho town., At tho time of ,writing tho breozo has become subdued, and no danger is anticipated 'if ' prosoiit' conditions continue. ...... . It is rumoured that tho Mikimiki school has been dostroyedyiarid many acres of tho surrounding country devastated. This is ndt at all improbable, as tho smoko looiris thick in that direction, and it was generally thought that unless rain came to extinguish tho smouldoring embers. of tho fire, which destroyed Messrs. Coradino and Whittaker'a mill, thero was a likelihood of tho flats boing visited by a destructive blazo. ■ From town it looks as though tho beautiful bush near tho Mount Holdswqrth track has been razed, and' rumours aro that tho mountain-house, recently erected at a cost of nearly £100, has been, destroyed. It would Uo almost a physical impossibility to test tho truth of this rumour, as the Maungatarera Valley is a blaz& of, burning bush. : Unless the long-deferred rain arrives vory ; soon, the town may yet bo in for a bad time. '!

, PONQAROA'TO EKETAHUNA. I I ' .large tracts desolated. I •WIND AND FIRE FRESHENING. ' . (DT ' lELEOEAPH—SPEOIiI, COHBESFONDENT.) ; vc-Xv.;? Eketaliuna, January 16. ".■■■ »- l 4 J .otween- Waiono. and Horoeka tho fire has about spent itselfj and .looking back'> yester-' .i-.V';v.' , day- afternoon from tho hoights at > Horoeka, ■ -" , one .had-' a, splondid-panoramic view of tho ; - burning forest. Peak after ppak.cragaftcr orag, and tho slopos. into -tho' valleys, which' ■ ; he either sido of the ndges, wore all oil hre | 1 ' tho- smoke-begrimed .settlers," whosrf Wljiskors , and .hair: boro traccs of. sizzling, l " ■■■' said: thatj it appeared to him as if somobodv - " w had "lifted tho trapdoor of hell and let " ' looso fiery -..demons..-Farther.- on one noticog' , that the flames htwo entirely blackened whole' '' 1 - ■ 'j sidings of the valleys, leaving adjoining areas" .-wiv.-! untouched.; Settlors -in . this locahty iiroi : " almost free from danger l except for grass-! , lirci.'iWhicli may;commencoißt any time after.''r .ijiiotlior week's dry weather- : - .>■ - ri . Your■ correspondent crossed tho . Poketoi' • ■■■>■'. ■ ■ranges last night from-Horooka over a road, ■ ■ ■ portions of which; aro absolutely; tho worstt > : ,m the .district, even,m dry .weather. Thorn *>•" 'Wore. no. traces .of firo .111: Ooonoor, a. dairyvv: l -* : district at thoifoot.of. tho mountain..Makurir ': i'v- . „was, reached .shortly aftor midnight. This ; .*■ ■ morning, coining into,- the smoke " from Pohangina. was. seen .drifting in hiieo» > s • ovor; the town,' and halfway to Sla- i ' 1 " kuri. > Thero woro. traces. of; firo underneath*' tho bridge at Horse Shoe Bend, between Makun: and Pahiatua, and it' was apparent that ; ,tho road has had a narrow escape from being ' blocked, by the destruction of the structure.' ' Fairly . greon pastures prevented tho, Era •'• from • spreading and it ato itsolf out. ■■ \ Between Pahiatua and Hukaiiui;: thorpia'■■>■ "■ bluo : sky,-, but- between Hukanui and Eketa- .i ! i'i huna .tho smoko. is-thick.;, With a 1 freshen- . . ing. windj : .th& ti^ber>'.is'.ablozoi more 'fiercely '. v- ' :than pverfroiii Nireaha down to Kaiparoro ana ' ( Manga'mahoo, and if the v wind increases to ■ a'gaio thero -wiirvbe' furthorVdesolation. A''report"just: received, by.'your'• correspondent' states that Pongaroa is more smoky than'ib.l ' ; • h'as 'btcn 1 during . tho" week,' Ith'o cause being ■' , a' firo which lias . just commencctJi soma ■: : miles'" to-.the 'south-cast. Settlors' between I'ongaroa and Johnston's sawmill aro still : : 'fightin'g ;> ha'rd,' and'-nro:.. surroundod.-. oil •. all -•-•.A'/: sides_ f l)y. fires, which just weak enough' to bO'heltl'in' |, S: ■ •.j *3 .' It Appears that- fires in New Zealand are ; ■ i!f fiercest : in. tho' heat- of day, and: cooler'jin ovening when there; is a lowering of tempera- . turo. In Australia tliev aro even hotter at night than m tho daytime. Tho dews also .oxercise al controlling influence on theso con- :■ ■ llogrations'ini-the 'Dominion;- I 'l Stpck' have!';been lost, in' all directions, • buti"' tan estimate 'cannot "bo made accurately till ■ the-cleaning up." '-,yi danger:ihcreasing at pohancina, ; ' ■"VALLEY ENVELOPED IN DENSE ' SMOKE. 1 ' 'SETTLERS FORSAKING'THEIR HOMES. \ ■ -I"V .- (DY TFXEORAPn—mESS ' ASSOCIATION.) , ! 1 Palmorston North, January 16. -. ; . Reports from Pohangma to-day indicata \ •that'tho'.danger 'from 1 bush, fires is « At presont no homesteads have burnt< . but several avo in danger. • , . Miles of fonciug," several, sheds, and 'num* bors of sheep have been burnt, but' the val» ,i :ley is' onvelopod in- a-.heavy cloud :of smoke t ' j •and -it,is/ impossible r .tp!:f6ra _any.' definite".; .idea.of what, loss'jiasbijen sustained till rain' | comes and.the country! clears.. . • ;. . j i . A'!nol;iceablo .effect is that feed miles awayi , from tho fires is.jjurnt up -by the, combined'>r) ; heat,';sun,. and-sqioke. At' present'there aro. , ■: ;noV'iudicatioris- of'' rain," which 'is Vurgently} needed, everywhero,: v . .'i -At.Komako, at the head of the Pohangina! ' ■. :Valley,-;the'.settlers are,prepared to'forsake ."j ' 'iheir'.dwellings,' :and ■ firo*. is reported to ba . .raging.'' through . tho ..forestreserve,. a big \ . j : strctcli of'bush....... ■■ J CONTRADICTORY REPORT [DT . TEr.EOBAPU—SriCIA.I.. CPBRESrONDBNT.] . ■ Palmerston North, January 16. :i ; The position at Pohangina, now that th® - ! &n6ke W lifted, is reported by. Mr. Culling to bo not so serious, as'was at first thought, iv;- -} and the chief damage has been to tho hillj' -j country. Although settlors whose grass wa! j destroyed ■ dre'embarrassed, for the present ; j thdy .'will'be ultimately "benefitetl, as logs .?.■ etc.havo been cleared,' and no serious losse ■ ; have been ■roported 'in shoep. :.; . , ! V' Mr: Eraser;- of Komako, - states that n«,v .much damage' has yet been .'done, but. if thd... i -wind-springs up tho fire : may' start again . j Few fences have been damaged, as the grasfc; ,j is very dry, and tho firo travels quickly.. :t FEARS FOR WAIRARAPA PLAINS. ( j THETARAJRUAFIRES, : ,;1 (by TF.LEGIUrII—rRESS ASSOCIATION.) . J , Carterton, January 16. .' I : Tho bush on tho Tararua Range is still . burning, and if the firo reaches the plains , tjio grass in its present dry state will all bo . 'I destroyed.! ' i At Booth and Co.'s mill, in tho bush the .-j hands aro standing by night and day tc fight . ..i tile firo' and save tho property. Nothing but) ;1 a downpour of. rain .will bring relief. . . . . i AROUND EKETAHUNA. j' j 1 ' (nv TELnoraru— press association.) •:j I Eketaliuna, January 16. . ■ ] Tho atmosphero is still clouded with smoke* j It has . been calm during tho last two days, 7 -j arid: the fires', havo■ not spread. Everythingr . j is as dry-.as tinder,-and shotild; a heavy wind coino beforo'rain tho position "will probably ... j 'he serious.- Tho crocks in the district ara. . i drying up, and water is short in town. .j FIRES SPREADING ROUND APITI. > « , _TWO HOMESTEADS DESTROYED. ' i SETTLERS BEATING. HACK FLAMEa ' is ''(iix ui.EosArn—srsoui coRBBsroKDBNT.) ; . :-:j Felldlng, January 16. ■} Tho bush-fires; continue to spread in the jj Apiti end . the surrounding_ districts.. At : ; Upper Kawhiitau two dwoiling-houses, the ; residences of Mr. L. Roucher and Mr. M-. '; = Power respectively, wore totally destroyed yesterday. ' • ' ' Up"to last'night the fires were still be- :i yoriu control, though every effort was being -.-.J ma'do by'the settlers to beat back tho flames; ;j In Kimbolton tho smoko from tho fires is : unpleasantly dense, and even in Feilding tho atmosphere was so- charged with smoke last ij night as to havo a disagreeable cffcct on flio ;j ej'es of residents. ,'i| CRASS FIRES AROUND THE CITY; :| THE FIRE BRIGADE CALLED OUT. ' ] The. long spell of dry weather has driel tho grass on the hills surrounding the city, j and a match dropped carelessly may easily> i lead to an extensive firo. The Firo Brigade was called out'twice yestorday to deal with ; '.outbreaks due to burning grass. The first 1 call was at 11.15 a.m. to n larjic area of ; grass which'was oil fi»o off Mivida Vale Road, | ltoseneatli. Tho fire ran through a considers ; able amount of grass land and burned abouf I 60 feet of fencing. Tho flames were beateX j out at length after a good doal of trouble! At 12.17 p.m. a call was rocaivcd to Vpgol< ■ town, where about two acres of grass werC ! on hro on "vacant: land fronting Victoria • ; Terrace. Tho outbreak; was got under with' i out any property being' damaged. ';

IN THE HUTT VAtLEY. J REPORTED DESTRUCTION OF '£ S : RESIDENCE. : Our Petono correspondent. status that ti • firo that might easily havo boan very serious ] startod in tho Domain yesterday afternoon, ] and had not tho Borough workmen gtuio un '. j and chcckod it it would possibly havecarrioa i away several houses. ? Lato last night a firo was raging on the hills towards Upper Belmont, and it was reported that tho residence of Mr. Jenniss, son. r j had gone. The fire was carrying all before^ 1

! it. Many fences were destroyed, as also was i some of the pretty bush that lias been pre- . served for so long. • • Tho shtep in the Maungatarera Valley havo suffored terribly by the fires, says the ! Carterton "News." Many haye been', dei stroyed, and those • surviving nave had the wool burnod off their backsj 'ivhile tho flesh of their backs is horribly burned., A DIFFICULT RIDE. (FROM- OUH TBAVZLUNG COnnESrOXMST.) Ngaturi, January IG. "Seeing dense smoko ahead,, from, near Miikomako, atitho foot of the Tararuas, I foresaw trouble. A bush fire had been started on top of the range. The wind got up pretty strong, and'drovo tho fire downhill into noighbouring paddocks, full of logs and stumps. When I got-near,: the, fire had crossed the; road. I pushed on for'a couplo of hundred yards, but had to turn back. My ; horse did not like flames on each side of him, ; nor the denso smoke, which'mado him sneeze violently,. So I went back to the next farm to ask how wido the belt of fire would he; I saw, a .man who had ridden through an hour before." 'Ho 'said it was' much • worse now. - He had to go tack soon, 'and wo would try to push the horses through! they would l probably go. better in company. Soon after,; we set off, at a good-speed. We had to, cover our,, mouths and noses-with handkerchiefs; the, horses snorted and quiv- | ered. " But at last we got through, our eyes ' just streaming with water. ' It .was a great .experience."',,;. : ' ' N the Nelson fires. .. v FURTHER DASIAGE REPORTED; : GOVERNMENT' RESERVE' ABLAZE; ' : (or ' lELEGBArn—SPECIAL ' COBRBSrONDENT.) ~ .' ' ' Nelson, January 16. Bush fires continue in various parts of the : district, and much, damage; to; crops aiid fences' is reported.' The Wai-iti corrcspond- " cnt of the ."Colonist" 'states that tho' range' of hills between that place and Belgrovo is i now a blackened' mass. • Another lire has. started in a Government reserve of 5000-acres 1 at_' the'head of the 1 Trass near Wai-iti. ' ' Tho shortage of water throughout tho dis- ■\ trict is becoming very serious; "VVells and ! springs on which settlers are' dependent • are i now exhausted, and-unless rain.- comes;soou the position wil lbe rcry'*graye. "iTfe-' : 'iiiilk ' '..supply is falling off" to an alarming''extent ;' 'in consequence of the : dryness :"'df the' pas-, tures. ' At Stanley Brook, Mr. Wilkinson's pro-; ". perty was swept by fire on Wednesday. The' • oat crops and homestead ; were saved with difficulty. Two bushmen's camps,• with the : ; contents, wore destroyed. • • ' , . | THE HORORATA FIRE. V ' FORTY THOUSAND ACRES LAID, -waste!/ . . , MANY SETTLERS REPORTED RUINED. (BY TELEGBAFJI—rRESS ASSOCIATION.) ;.i Christchurch, January 16. The grass fire on the Hororata Estate (the -V. tto Sir John Hall's) was"-most'disastrous. ; ,The estate was divided last March, and the : . entered into/possession in August. Fortunately as yet no buildings have been ! erected, and tho damage is .therefore con--suod to grass, fencing, and stock. ... The fire began on Miss Cordy's property, ' ive miles from Hororata, at 11 a.m. yosteriay, but 1000 sheep ;thero were saved. Tho i aro swept before tho south-east breeze very f'apidly; and soon,' despite, the efforts ■of ' jnany men. with sacks to'','prevent' its' progress, many thousand acres wero black waste, i ' Ono selector lost seven hundred sheep and' I ' three horses.' i It is "estimated that the'■ firo destroyed;. S thirty or forty thousand acres 'of grass, and !-.■ many of the new settlers, will, be ruined. i: : One owner was reaping when the firo came ' and destroyed one thousand acres. _ !■ .■ The'fire is supposed to have originated in.' the phosphorus used to destroy rabbits. ..