A $60,000 Fire Devastates Valley: Livery Stable Blaze Spreads Through Town
A wind-whipped fire that began in a livery stable destroyed a general store, a saloon, and a residence, leaving insurance far short of losses.
Valley, Wash., Aug. 16. — Fire broke out here today in A. W. Lambert's livery stable. The wind was blowing from the south, a stiff gale. The fire soon spread to the Buckhorn saloon, owned by Brown & Uderman. From there it leaped across the street to M. Kulzer's large general merchandise store. This building was 36 by 100 feet, a two-story frame structure. From there it spread to the oil house, 80 or 100 feet away, and then leaped 600 feet to Bazil Brown's residence, streams of fire passing over M. Kulzer's residence. Mrs. Brown and several other women fought the fire until several men came to their aid and put the fire out at that place, while the townspeople were fighting it in the town. The losses, as nearly as they can be ascertained tonight, follow: Kulzer's general store, loss $35,000, insurance $10,000; Buckhorn saloon, stock loss $2200, building (owned by M. Kulzer) loss $1500, insurance $750; Lambert's livery, loss $2200, no insurance; Bazil Brown's residence, owned by M. Kulzer, $750. Other losses have not yet been determined. The insurance will not be more than 10 per cent.
“Mrs. Brown and several other women fought the fire until several men came to their aid and put the fire out at that place, while the townspeople were fighting it in the town.”
In 1908, a single spark could level a town built of wood. Valley's fire mirrors the risks that still face communities in wildfire country—and the gaps in insurance that leave small businesses exposed.
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