The Day the Slash Hills Burned
A devastating fire sweeps through the rural settlement, consuming homes, crops, and winter stores, leaving families to pick through the ashes.
Writing from the Slash Hills area, regarding the loss by the recent forest fire in this neighborhood: Mr. Robert Hall lost two cabins and his household goods; Mr. Spray, a cabin; Mr. Adam, a cabin; L. B. Bales, a cabin and contents; Boles & Pratt, a cabin and household goods. J. W. Mierer lost a cabin and all his household goods, also all of his fence, orchard and crops. Mr. D. W. lost all of his fence and about half of his potatoes. Mr. Fred Van Duna's house burned to the ground. Mr. Van Duna went out to work last week, and it was a hard task for Mrs. Van Duna and her little boy to battle against a sea of fire as it swept over them. Mr. Hlykar, their nearest neighbor, had to look after both classes, and having a sore hand, made it very heavy work for them. Mr. Molton lost his cabin and fence. Mrs. Hughes and her little boys were driven out of her house in the night and went to the house of a neighbor. Mr. C. Tinerman lost his fence, orchard and crops. Mr. B. W. Kelly lost about eighty rods of fence. Mr. Oxford lost the fence around his place. Mr. Header lost his fence and hay. H. Hlyer's outbuildings and fence were destroyed near the Slash Hills settlement.
“Mrs. Van Duna and her little boy to battle against a sea of fire as it swept over them.”
In 1885, settler families fought massive wildfires with little more than their bare hands, losing entire livelihoods in the process. Today, while residents of the wildland-urban interface in Washington face a more sophisticated state response, the recurring anxiety of rural fire season remains a stark, climate-worsened echo of this pioneer struggle.
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