Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-06-22 | Page 2 | Forest Fires in Northwest Serious

FOIST FIDES IN NDRTKVVEST SERIOUS Men From Army Camps May Be Asked to Assist in Emergency. WASHINGTON. June 21. Firos in na tional forests, located In western Mon-turiii Mon-turiii and northern Idaho, are assuming a most dangerous aspect, according to reports today to Chief Forester Graves from district offices. Forest officials on the spot have Buggonted asking the war dr-par l merit for men from a rmy camps nejr-by, to assist during the emergency. Seven fires in the Black foot, two in the C'oeur d'Alene and others out of control con-trol in the Fend Oreille and Kaniksu national na-tional forests were reported. All funds of the forest He.rvice are now being drawn upon to meet the emergency payrolls for f ir fighting ; pal rols have been doubled over the danger areas, but an unusually dry season Itaa made the guard ineffectual. inef-fectual. Less serious conditions are reported from Denver, Colo., and Ogden, Utah. ... SPOKANE, Wash., June 21. The forest for-est fires in northern Idaho for the past twenty -Your hours have been the most serious for years, according to officials of the federal forest . service here. The fires are scattered in the district from Orofino to the Canadian border. Four big fires are burning, but each supervisor in the district reported the prospects were good for putting the fires under control because of the absence of wind. Most of the fires, it is thought, were started by careless campers and a few by lightning. HRLKNA, Mont., June 21." All fires in the Helena forest haver been extinguished, iiocording to information received here to-( to-( y. It is estimated by the supervisor that 4f00 acres of the Helena forest have been burned over.