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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1914 | 1 |
32 stories matching ablaz
- Inferno at the Spokane Falls
Four mills destroyed and workers missing after a massive industrial fire consumes the riverfront.
- Firefighters Save Montesano from Total Destruction
A catastrophic fire nearly leveled the town's business district before new water mains were put to the ultimate test.
- The Corpse in the Chicken Yard
A bungled insurance swindle in 1890s Seattle turns grisly when an amateur conspiracy, a stolen body, and a coded German letter unravel in a courtroom inquest.
- The Smoke Over the Okanogan
Forest fires fueled by arsonists are devastating the landscape and choking the residents of the Okanogan country.
- The Night Cheney Burned to the Ground
A pre-dawn fire decimated half of Cheney’s business district, leaving city officials to suspect arson as the town vowed to rise again from the ashes.
- Walla Walla Devastated by Lower Main Street Blaze
A massive fire wipes out a half-block of wooden buildings, revealing the city's total lack of adequate firefighting equipment.
- The Waterfront's First Industry Ends in Smoke
An abandoned barrel factory, once a symbol of Seattle's early industrial ambition, was destroyed by a fire lit by local children looking to warm up after a swim.
- The Hammer in the Kitchen
A killer waited until the men left for a labor-hall meeting, then entered a Seattle house, beat Mrs. Miller and her baby to death, looted a valise, and set the place ablaze.
- Tragedy in the Woods Near Lone Prairie
A woman experiencing a mental health crisis locked her home and set it ablaze, killing herself and her four children.
- The Senator Who Stood on the Train
In the dead of night, a torch-lit mob marched through Spokane to greet U.S. Senator Warren G. Squire. But as he stepped onto the platform to deliver his victory speech, the rails betrayed him: the train pulled away before he could finish, leaving only his voice echoing into the dark.
- A Grand Welcome for Seattle's Visitors
When an excursion party arrived in Seattle in 1885, they were treated to a citywide illumination and a clam bake at Port Blakely, sparking a fierce local rivalry over the naming of Mount Rainier.
- The Slaughterhouse Inferno
A mysterious fire at a Seattle-area slaughterhouse leads to a harrowing escape as a man risks his life to release trapped livestock amidst a blaze that threatened the neighboring Union Stockyards.
- Smoke So Thick You Could Not See a Block: The August the Sound Went Dark
Forest and peat fires from Lynden to Wilkeson filled Puget Sound with smoke in late August 1894. Seattle's weather observer promised rain within thirty-six hours, and Whatcom County counted its losses.
- The Pride of Mount Vernon Went Up in Smoke
A $20,000 shingle mill — the finest on Puget Sound — burned to the ground in a single afternoon, throwing sixty men out of work and leaving a receiver and a Seattle mortgage house to sort through the ashes.
- Tragedy in North Seattle: A Father’s Desperate Attempt to Save His Children
After a midnight fire engulfs their home, a grieving father is left to mourn three young children, sparking a local relief effort among neighbors.
- The Price of Living on the Hill
A Queen Anne home burns to cinders while the fire department struggles to reach the summit, sparking a civic row over missing infrastructure.
- Nightmare at the Notion Store
A shopkeeper narrowly escapes his building as a pre-dawn blaze tears through a landmark business in Walla Walla.
- The Pioneer Drug Store Fire
A mysterious warehouse fire tests the mettle of the local fire department and leaves a shopkeeper with a significant, uninsured loss.
- The Queen Anne Fire That Nearly Took Mrs. Geddes
A lamp explosion before dawn sent Professor Geddes into a smoke-filled house to rescue his unconscious wife.
- Olympia Rolls Out the Torchlight for Judson
John P. Judson's 1876 campaign swing through Olympia brought cannon fire, bonfires and a packed Columbia Hall—and the Argus predicted a Democratic landslide.
- A Close Call on Washington Street
A carpenter’s spilled lamp sets a roof ablaze, only for an alert officer to stop the fire with a well-aimed kick.
- Snohomish's Standard Mill Goes Up in Flames
A boiler-side fire consumes the Loggie Bros. mill and its lumber, threatening a town payroll already strained by strike.
- A Desperate Escape on Commercial Street
A Russian immigrant narrowly survives a lodging house fire that authorities suspect was sparked by coal oil.
- The Sermon on the Forest
A Seattle pastor warns that the unchecked destruction of Washington's timber is a moral failure and a theft from future generations.
- The Artisan Hotel Lost to Flames
A morning blaze leaves a local landmark in ruins, with early-rising travelers suspected of accidental negligence.