APPALLING BUSH FIRES

Taranaki Daily News, 3 January 1930, Page 7

APPALLING BUSH FIRES

DAMAGE IN UNITED STATES

LOSS OF SEVERAL LIVES.

San Francisco, Dec.. 11-

Appalling damage was done in the. season just closed by bush ■ fires in the Pacific States—-California, Oregon and Washington. , ," In California there were 2976 outbreaks, of which 1964 were caused by careless smokers and 364 were incendiary. Four men lost their lives. A forest officer perished when he ran head-on into a truck, obscured by smoke, while scouting a fire on a motor-cycle. In" Oregon there were. 1358, six lives being lost. There were 1611 forest fires in Washington, the burn-ed-over area being twice as large as last year. Smokers were responsible for 374 and incendiaries 147. . ■ ■■ In fighting forest fires aeroplan.es. attached to the Forestry Patrol did very effective work’in dropping food to the fire; fighters. In Washington, the principal , cities were combed for fire-fighters, and calls for more workers were sent to Montana and Idaho. The immigration regulations were suspended to recruit help:' from Canada. * " • ' '

The greatest fire was in the Chelan National Park. It started on steep mountain slopes and destroyed five miles of flume supplying water to orchards. Over the crest it raced into large areas of insectkilled pine to the watershed, where high winds swept it through -tree ■. crowns • in every direction. Spurs of the main blaze leaped down canyons, around ridges, back up parallel canyons, trapping desperate fire crews again and again. Men were gassed and fell unconscious, to be dragged to safety by their comrades. High winds threw smoke blankets miles ahead of the advancing wall of flame, endangering lives of men resting or asleep in the fire camps. _ - It was in this fire that a forest officer, Mr. Douglas Ingram, perished. His camp was burned out and he sought a fresh site. He asked no one to go with him, but a young university athlete, Ernani St. Luise, volunteered. They started down a ridge, trailing through a jungle of lodge-pole pine, but turned back when the fire, making a flanking movement, cut them off. Retracing their steps only , a short distance they, had apparently turned off the trail. That was the last seen of them until-'ll. days later, when their bodies were found on a steep hillside, two miles from . where they were last seen, They 'were s-n«.vl the flames reached them-