Inferno in the Olympics
Citizens gather on Church Hill in Port Angeles to watch a massive timber fire burning in the Olympic Mountains.
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 mountains in the Olympian range, behind Port Angeles, were in lurid flames yesterday and during the evening the spectacle was witnessed by a large number of citizens who had assembled on Church Hill. From many housetops and from other places of elevation the grandeur of the scene was also appreciated. The fire has been smouldering for some time past, but it did not break out in full fury until yesterday. Hundreds of acres of timber have, doubtless, ere this been consumed. The effect of the fire was grand beyond description, the flames being in marked contrast with the soft azure background of twilight and approaching night.
“The effect of the fire was grand beyond description, the flames being in marked contrast with the soft azure background of twilight.”
Wildfire visibility remains a common experience for Washington residents, though today’s perspective is less about 'grandeur' and more about the ongoing climate crisis and air quality impacts.
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