Twin Towns Devastated by Blazes
Fire-ravaged business districts in Fairfield and Winlock lead to over $60,000 in total losses in a single day.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Fairfield, August 22—Nearly a dozen of the principal business houses were burned this morning. There was only a bucket brigade to fight the flames, which soon got beyond control. The total loss is about $12,000. Winlock, August 22—Fifty thousand dollars went up in smoke here last night, the main business portion of the town being wiped out. The fire originated in a woodshed back of Fallows & Labrainer’s saloon, and in two hours the buildings for a block on each side were totally destroyed. The fire is supposed to have been of incendiary origin.
“The main business portion of the town being wiped out... the fire is supposed to have been of incendiary origin.”
In the 1890s, Washington towns built of timber were essentially tinderboxes. Without modernized fire codes or professional departments, a single shed fire in a saloon could wipe out a town's entire economic center in an afternoon.
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