A Train Spark Nearly Burned Orient Off the Map
A Spokane Falls Northern train set the timber alight near Orient, and residents, ranchers, miners, and railroad crews turned out to keep the flames from swallowing the town.
A Spokane Falls Northern train set fire to the timber in the neighborhood of Orient, Wash., one day last week. The fire spread rapidly and threatened to destroy the town of Orient. Residents of the town, ranchers, trainmen, miners and an extra gang on the railroad were called out to fight the fire. The fire was subdued after a hard fight, and the town was saved.
“The fire was subdued after a hard fight, and the town was saved.”
Railroad sparks routinely started fires across the Northwest, and communities depended on whoever was nearby to fight them. Wildfire still arrives at the edge of town with little warning, and the response still depends on ordinary residents, crews, and neighbors.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.