A Wall of Flame at Newport's Doorstep

State Fire Warden J. R. Welty of Olympia arrived in Newport last Friday in response to urgent telegrams to Governor Mead about the gravity of the fire situation down the river, and went to the scene by the first boat. Mr. Welty returned Monday evening and gave the Miner the following information regarding the fire, which is devastating the fine timber of township 35-42.

The fire is raging north of Tacoma Creek. The high wind of Saturday drove the flames across trenches that had been thrown up, making futile all the work of the large force of firefighters. They fell back and began anew, and during Sunday and Monday checked the fire on the south and completed a trench from Tacoma Creek north, checking the fire on the east. These latest trenches have been well back-fired, and Mr. Welty thinks they should hold the fire in check. He thinks the fire will be under control by Wednesday night, and if the wind keeps down the danger is past. All depends on the character of the wind from this time on.

If more high winds like Saturday's should come, the whole timber region in that locality will be burned. No serious accidents have occurred, although reports of deaths and accidents among the firefighters have been numerous. Most of the worthless workers who went in with the hurriedly assembled force have been sent out, and the men now remaining at the front are doing well and working hard. Deputy Fire Warden L. A. Kerr of Colville has charge of the men and is exerting every effort to control the fire.

Further news from the fire is hard to get, as communication with the firefighters is very poor. People coming up on the boats say the fire seems to be spreading over a greater range of territory. It seems confined to unsurveyed territory and is going west toward the Little Pend Oreille River.

The fire at A. Creek has not done much damage and is about under control. A force of men was sent to that section by Supervisor Fromme of the Kaniksu Forest on Sunday and is still at work there. Another fire has started in the neighborhood of Indian Creek, and small fires are numerous along the river, causing hard work and great anxiety among the settlers.

The fire in Scott's Addition just west of Newport reached a considerable size on Monday and created some fear that Newport might be endangered. It is now practically burned out. Just east of Penrith a fire started Saturday afternoon and has caused considerable damage by burning over land that had been cut for cordwood. C. L. Gilbert is a loser by about $1,600 in cordwood that was in the path of the fire. The owners of Section 35 will lose about a thousand cords, and various ranchers will also have losses. The Panhandle Lumber Co. has large piles of logs in the neighborhood and has kept a force of men at work fighting the fire. It is now approaching green timber about four miles south of Newport and it is thought it will be checked there without doing much damage to it.