IN FIRE'S GRIP. MORE DAMAGE REPORTED.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 23, 28 January 1908, Page 8

IN FIRE'S GRIP. MORE DAMAGE REPORTED.

NELSON DISTRICT SUFFERING. [BY TELEGKAPn. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] NELSON, 27th January. Reports of destruction by bush fires are still coming to hand. At Upper Tadmor tho dwelling-houso of E. Phillips, jun., was burned on Saturday ovening. Tho fire is still spreading in this neighbourhood, and the settlers along the line have packed their moveable effects and are ready to leave at short notice. At Korere- the country for miles on each side of tho road is ablaze. E. Newport's homestead at Korere is in great danger. . A number of sheep were overtaken, by fire while being driven along the road at Dovedale to a place of safety, and were destroyed. M'Phedran Bros', homestead at Kohatu was burned this morning. A large sum of money in bank notes was destroyed. There was no insurance on the contents, but the building was insured for £200 in the Commercial Union. SETTLERS ANXIOUS. READY TO QUIT THEIR HOMES. NELSON, This Day. The Long Plains Creamery, destroyed ' by fire yesterday, was insured for £225 in the Standard Office. It is unlikely the creamery will bo set up again this season, as the milk supply has fallen off owing to tho drought , which is daily becoming more acute. Biggs's Accommodation House, wellknown to travellers, but lately purchased as a homestead by M'Phedran Bros., Motupiko, which was destroyed by fire yesterday, was insured for £200 in the Commercial Union, but the contents were uninsured, and M'Phedran Bros, are heavey losers. The weather to-day is inclined to be cloudy, but it is difficult to distinguish cloudy from the smoke of bush fires. The whole district is anxious, and in many localities settlers are ready to quit their homes at a moment's notice. DESTRUCTION OF AN HOTEL. LOSS OF LIFE. FURTHER PARTICLUARS. TE AROHA, This Day. The Waiorongomai Hotel, which was burned down on Sunday morning, was owned by Campbell and Ehrenfried Company, Limited, and occupied by Henry Brunton. The licenseb attempted to get upstairs to awaken Wilson, a boarder, but finding this impossible, rescued his wife and child, through a window. Wilson had evidently attempted to get out, but must have been suffocated. Wilson was about fifty years of age, and comes from Hukerenui. He leaves a widow and eight young children. An inquest was opened and adjourned till Saturday. The house destroyed contained thirty rooms, and was built twenty years ago. It was insured in New Zealand Insurance Office for £850, including stock and furniture. MATAHIWI BUSH DESTROYED. AN IRREPARABLE LOSS. What is alleged to have been carelessness on the part of a smoker with the ashes of his pipe, or a match, started a fire at Matahiwi on Saturday shortly after midday, resulting in tho complete destruction of that beautiful stretch of bush, near the Matahiwi homestead, which has so long served tho residents of Masterton as a picnic ground, and was one of the beauty spots in the district (bays the Aga) The lire sprang up suddenly in a paddock near the edge of the bush above the boundary gates of the homostead, and almost before the occupants of Mr. H. Holmes' s residence were aware of what had happened, the flames swept all tho intervening stretch of grass, and found their way into the bush, which was soon rieroely ablaze. Great difficulty was experienced in. saving the homestead. OUTBREAK AT SUNNYSIDE ASYLUM. CONFINED TO AND KITCHEN. CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. At two o'clock this morning an alarming fire occurred in the bakehouse of the Sunnysido Mental Hospital. All the engines of tho Christcburcb, Sydenham, St. Albans, and Railway Brigades were summoned and were on the spot as soon as possible. The establishment possesses excellent fire appliances of its own, and the attendants were able to keep the fire in chsck till the arrival of aid from the city. The fire burned strongly for half aq hour, and a portion of the roof fell in, but tho brigade was ablo to prevent more than superficial damage to the front portion and office building. Only the bakehouse and kitchen were destroyed. The officers of the institution had an anxious time, but the patients were never in any danger, and the fire, beyond dislocating the domestic arrangements temporarily, will have no serious result.