Salt Lake Telegram | 1931-07-28 | Page 2 | Giant Trees Fall as Flames Spread

GIANT CITIES T TREES EES FAll FULL FAllAS FALLAS AS Fl FLAMES MES SP SPREAD HD Forest Becomes Blackened Graveyard of Timber More Crews Join Battle B Br By United Fm Press MISSOULA Mont l July 28 28 One One of the tests test's ts t's finest forests rapidly became beame became be- be came ame a blackened graveyard of trees today oday as giant white pines fell scared skeletons burned and twisted by the worst fire tire of the year Forest service officials marshaled additional crews and by afternoon 1000 men will be on the tho fire lire front More will be en cn route The fire tire a huge circle of or n nearly arly 60 0 miles mUes In circumference was WM spreading fast under shifting winds which during the last 24 It hours reached cached gale velocities Traveling northeasterly from the theP P nd Oreille forest In northern Idaho the tho fire moved into the Yaak river country in the Kootenai forest of western Montana REPORTS MEAGER Reports from the fire front were meager as the only telephone line linein linein linen in n the district was wiped out by the first onslaught of flames which de destroyed destroyed destroyed de- de the ranger station and the smoke chasers chaser's cabin Regional headquarters expected fresh news from tho the zone late to to- to day The last definite reports came in during the night Planes of the aerial patrol circled the acre Inferno making what observations were possible through columns of smoke and burning embers embers em em- bers belched forth into the wind Later notes were dropped to the supply camp near Sylvanite where I veteran fire tire chiefs directed crews building trenches around the blaze Many of or the crews have been taken from trench construction and as assigned assigned as I signed to chasing spot fires caused by tl flying embers These fire brands are a source of great danger of officials orn- orn Ii- Ii said as M they leap trenches and carry the fire forward rapidly Major Evan W. W Kelley regional forest orest head described the blaze as the most devastating In this region since 1929 1929 a a holocaust year when thousands of acres of western forests forests forests for for- ests went up in smoke Forest service experts have been recalled from minor fires now on pa patrol patrol patrol pa- pa basis and from regular duties on other forests to join in the fight against the Pend Oreille Oreme and Kootenai Kootenai Kootenai Koote- Koote nai fire It was announced at regional headquarters