A Wall of Flame Closes In on Spirit Lake

A long dry spell has caused the worst fire conditions in years. Fires in the slashings on ground logged over by the Kennedy camp near Dalkena last winter have been causing considerable trouble to the Panhandle Lumber Co. and other timber owners in that vicinity. A considerable force of men has been employed fighting the fires. Deputy Fire Warden Sova, of Spirit Lake, has been transferred to this territory and will make Newport his headquarters during this season. A meeting of representatives of the National Forest Service, the Panhandle Lumber Co., the Fidelity Lumber Co. and the Dalkena Lumber Co. will be held at Newport this week to form a protective association for the protection of timber on the east side of the county, and to work in connection with the state deputy fire warden. The practice of leaving slashings unburned, which has hitherto been followed in the Pend Oreille valley, will be discontinued, and hereafter all slashings on logged-off lands will be burned in the fall and spring, when there is little danger of causing damage to standing timber. By this means the big fire risk will be practically eliminated.

The country north and east of Spirit Lake, between that town and Clagstone, was the scene of a fierce forest fire Wednesday. The fire started shortly after noon, almost in the town limits of Spirit Lake, and spread with such rapidity that it was feared the town would be destroyed. The big force of men employed by the Panhandle Lumber Co.'s mill and planer and the I. & W. N. shops were all turned loose on the job of fire fighting, and late at night had succeeded in getting the fire practically under control.

A crew of surveyors working on the Washington Water Power Co.'s line to Newport narrowly escaped being hemmed in by fire, and were compelled to abandon their instruments and make a seven-mile detour to get away from the fire. Hose from the city fire department were used in fighting the fire, and where it could be reached from the railroad tracks engines of the I. W. N. were used to convey water to the firefighters.

Latest reports from Spirit Lake are that the fire has broken out anew and will be extremely difficult to control unless conditions are favorable. Several small fires are burning near Newport, one east of town near the Kellogg place, and one about a mile south of the I. W. N. railroad, but no serious damage has been done or is anticipated.

One of the worst fires in this section is the one burning in the Pack River country near Sandpoint. About six sections have been reached by this fire and a big property loss experienced. Several hundred men are employed battling the flames and have not yet secured control. Other fires in the down-river country have been one at Blueslide and one on the east side of the river opposite Locke. Both were got under control. Within a few hours today several more fires have broken out. One is on the state line near the Langille place and is spreading rapidly up onto the second bench. Another is near Wolfred.