A TOWN TOTALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2240, 30 September 1889, Page 2

A TOWN TOTALLY DESTROYED BY FIRE.

SHEETS OF FLAMS 3,

The year 1889 will long be remembered t>s the mott disastrous since the days of the big San Fracoleoo fires In thi early Ws. On the night of August 5h tho entire business portion of the olty of Spokane F*Ub, Washington torrltory, was entirely destroyed by fko. Ihe fire originated m a low frame atruo'.ure, and s,re*d rapidly, the fi-e dap%itm-nt being utterly unable to do any fff otlve work. Spokane Ib a olty of at least 40,000 people, and the Btruotarea destroyed were all Bplendld three, four and five Btory brick buildings. Every hing m the burned dlstrlot was destroyed, t>e fire epreadirg so rapidly that it waa impossible to save Buying at all The bnrned district comprises thirty blocks, and embraces every bilok business building m tho olty except the America Hotel and the Oresoont blook. It extends fr.im the Northern Pacific track on the south of the Spokane river on the north, and from Linooln street on tbe weat »o Washington Btreet on the estt Besides all the publio and buslceeß build* Ings, the Nor.born Paolfio dejot and huge freight wbarehouses, filled with valuable goods were ooosamed. Baing beyond iha revoh of tbe fl 4_.es, t ie aohvols, ohurobes, hospital*, and residences escaped, while by great efforts tho floor and saw mills wa?e caved. It is claimed tbat tbe wa'e'worka would bnve furnished a Buffiolent supply to quickly extinguish the flhm?B had tha demand for more powor I been promptly responded to. Thesuperiotendent of tho waterworks was away from town, and his assistants proved incompetent.

The fire originated at 6 15 o'clock m the evening m tho roof of a lodging-house on Railroad Avenue, the thi p d door w-set or Post street. A dead ca"m prevailed at the time, ar d the spectators supposed the firemen would ppeedily bring the flames under oontrol. Ihls could have been done if proper precaution* hal been taken, but the superintendent of the waterworks wa oot of the city, aud for Bonn reas n tho men m charge failed to respond to the call for more pressure. The heut created a. current of air, a- d m less t' an half an hour the en ire block of frame shops was euve'oped m flame", and burning sh'ngleß or other debris filled the air, igniting several adjioant blocks at the same time. Opposite ihe block m whioh tbe fire originated stood tho Pacific Hotel, on 7 ) of tho handsomest structures m the Northwest. It was soon In a blaze, and by that time a high wild prevailed fro_t the south-west, and it was evident the entire business portion of the city was m danger. Mayor Furth ordered that buildings be BLOWN UP WITH GIANT PoWDBR to check the spread of tbe fire. This order was speedily put into exeoatlon, and tbo explosooß added to tbe reign of terror. The picture was weird, grand and awful, as blook after block yielded to the fu-foas fl.mea. The eky was overoast with blaok clouds, aud a strong wind sprang up from tbe north-east, fanning the fhmes furiously, while the upper ourrent continued to oarry the burning fragments m the opposite direotloo, The Grand Hotel m t o Frankfort blook, the Windsor H t>l, the Washington block, the Eagle block, the Toll blook, the Ooghing building, the Falls City Operahouse, the Ryie blook, all the basks, and m faot every hou eon ltalroad Avenne north to the river and from Lincoln street eaat to Wa>hiag(on street, wito the exception f f a few buildings In the northoast oorner, we™ tota'ly destroyed. Meanwhile a sudden change m the direction of the wind o rriei the fire southward, across Railroad Avenue, and destroyed th'' Northern Pacific pass^neer aod freight depots and several oars The freight d^pot was a mimmcth stiucure, and wis filled ti ihe roof with valuable merchandise, v ry little of wh'ch was saved. The terrifying shrieka of a dozen locomotives mingled with tho roar of ihe flames, tbe bursting of or ridges, tho booming of giant powder, tin hoarso Bhonts of men a d the piteous ehrieks of women a^d children. A RIVJfB OF FLAMB. Looking upward a broad and mighty rivor of fliraa eeenied lined againit tbe jot-black sky, Ooobbloi a"ly the two opposing curronte of wind would meet, causing a whirlwind of firs that teamed to penetrato the olouds as a ponderoua sorow, •rblle whirlwinds danced nboat Its base, performing all sorts of fautaatlo gyrations la this manner tho appalling carnival of destrnotlon continued till about 10 o'c'ook, wheu w'th a mighty crash the Howards'reet bridge over tbe river went down. A boom of logs took fire and burned for . hoara on the crystal surface of the river, Igniting the mtmmoth lumber and fhurlng mills that line Its banke, but by herolo eflhrta Its qarcqr was checked on the south side of the stream.

Looking b»ok ihe beholder witnessed

A SPENE OF DESOLATION

that wsb ftarful to ooutempla'-e. Frag* mentary port'ons of nnke l walls of what four hours before wnro magnificent structures of brlok and granite stood like grim sentinels above the surface of a borulng sea, aod all waa devastation and ruin.

The burned district ombrnoas thirty blocks boilde.) the depots. Tho only brick business houses left aUndfug are the Oresctut block tnd the Amorin»n Theatre;

The school*, churches, college* and hosplttiln wore beyond tbe llnea of the burned dlstrlot aud none were lost.

Tne burned' nltp let extends from the Northern Ps.ollio track to the rlysr from south to north, aud from L'nooln afreet to Washington street from west to ea3t. This Inoludes many fine brlok and stone structures, Beveral freight pars and the Northern Pacific depots and warehouses alcng the traok, which runs eaat and west through the olty.