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Show FLIES SWEEP OREGON TOWN BUSINESS DISTRICT OF ASTORIA COMPLETELY WIPED OUT BY EARLYMORNINQ BLAZE Twentyaeven Blocks Lay In Rulm and Flames Destroy Piling Which Supports Pavement In Oregon City Astoria. Th business district ot Astoria, was laid In ruins by a Are which broko out shortly nfter 2 a. a. Friday and desplto efforts ot tho local flro department and relnforcomcnti from Portlnnd, swept 10 blocks, causing caus-ing a loss estimated at botwoen $10,-000,000 $10,-000,000 nnd $15,000,000. According to rciiorta from the fire swopt area, Morris Staples presldont of tho Bank of Commcrco hnd dropped dead. Another report said Brennan Van Dusen, n business man, wns missing. miss-ing. W. W. Follman furniture dealer, who hail been reported dead carllor In tho morning Inter was found to bo safo. Tho cntlro district from tho rlvor front five blocks south to Exchango streot and cast and west botwoon Fourteenth and Tenth streot, had beon wiped out nt 7:80 o'clock and the flamos hnd extended beyond Exchange street at that hour. At 8 o'clock the flro had swopt ovor twenty-soven blocks. Tho flames bad oaten under the pavoment on Commercial Commer-cial streot, burning tho piling on widen tho city had been built, nnd firemen woro unablo to cope with this development. devel-opment. Patients woro removed from St. Mary's hospital, all tho windows of which wero shatterod by explosions of dynamite or gasoline tanks, Tho Astoria Astorlan, occupying a now building on Commercial street, distant from the devastod area, began moving mov-ing out at 8 o'clock. Tho Astorlan's building is concrete bnt sparks wore threatenng the roof. The fire at 10 o'clock had swept the entlro district between Astor stroot, at the rlvor front, south to Exchango atreete, and north and south botween Eighth and Sixteenth streets. Between Eloventh and Twelfth It had penetrated penetrat-ed as far as Franklin street. At 10:10 o'clock the II ro crossed Sixteenth St. at Commercial streot. |