Volcano of Flame Threatens Columbia Slope Wheat Fields
A three-day prairie fire near Jump-Off Joe tested the mettle of local farmers, forcing them to plow firebreaks to save their harvest.
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.
The prairie fire which the latter part of the week gave Jump-Off Joe the external appearance of an active volcano, burned itself out down the Columbia slopes without doing any great damage. The fire raged for three days and nights and at times threatened destruction to thousands of acres of ripened wheat. Aside from the burning over of miles of bunch grass pasture, the destruction of some fences, and the barn on the Archie Owens place, no further damage was done. At times the wheat fields of John Wroe, Wash. Hettinger, and the Smalleys were in grave danger, but by plowing and back-firing, the farmers succeeded in saving their crops.
“The prairie fire which the latter part of the week gave Jump-Off Joe the external appearance of an active volcano.”
Wildfire remains an existential threat to the Tri-Cities agricultural landscape. This account from 1914 mirrors modern struggles where farmers and residents must work together to protect crops and homes from seasonal blazes.
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