THE BUSH FIRES.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16166, 21 March 1918, Page 7

THE BUSH FIRES.

WIDESPREAD DAMAGE TO FARMS. ENORMOUS LOSS OF CATTLE AND SHEEP. (PitESS ASSOCIATION TELEC.RAII.) WELLINGTON. March 'JO. iLatcr advices state that tho bush fifes in the Main Trunk district, fanned by a howling gale, swept the country from Horopiio to Ranjiataua. At midnight tho gale attained cyclonic pioportions, and carried tho lire hundreds of yards. Ohakune received little damage, but Horopito v.a> practically destroyed, the sawmill and twenty houses being wiped out. The heat at Raetihi was intense. Hundreds of women and children stood all night waist deep in water and drains. Tho Railway Department at o a.m. sent a relief train to Ilaetihi, and brought in hundreds of refugees, who wore nearly blind from smoke and dust. Mers-on's, Harris's, Bartholomew s, Perham and Larsen's, Powell's, Collier's, and Wilson's mills have all been completely destroyed, and hundreds of men will bo out of work for wee-Li. 1 lie refugees on their arrival at Ohakune presented a pitiable spectacle. Tiio -Mayor of Ohakune (Mr E. J. liurry) billeted the women and children with local residents. I In addition to tho mills above enumerated, which are situated in different pans ot tiie country between ilaugataua and Ilaetihi, the following premises in Raetihi proper wore burn0d: —The Raetihi Dairy Company's factory,'-Ji/ico Station, Tagg JtJros.' \store, County ottices. Anderson's butcher shop, sash and door factory, Anglican, ltoman Catholic, and Methodist churches, Messrs Tustin's, Parkes's, Hoopor's, and Shaw's residences, the .Maternity Hospital, and- about 40 other residences. All the mill cottages at the various mills were destroyed. The damage to farms and farm buildings is widespread. and the loss of sheep and cattle jnust be enormous. One man lost two thousand sheep in one paddock. At 6 o'clock last night it was impossible to got down the roads loading front Ilaetihi to the surrounding country, so that the real extent of the damage and loss is unknown. It is feared thqt there must have beep loss of life in the country. Heavy rain fell last night, and the danger must now be practically over. •.The officers and staff of the Railway Department at Ohakune deserye the utnjpst credit for the manner in which they handled the arrangement of relief trains, and also for their uniform kindness to and sundrv. Telephone and telegraph lines are still down in every direction.

ALL DANGER OVER. (TKTSS ASSQq.tTJQX telegram.) WELLINGTON. March 20. The Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Dapartmcnt veeo'ved the following' message from the postmaster at Raetihi, timed 3.00 p.m. today:— ''Heavy rain fell yesterday afternoon. The wind is now nbntjng and all danger is over. Tho post office is not harmed. All the telephone and telegraph lines ore l)i}dly damaged." REFUGEES FLOCKING BACK TO IiAETIHI. (/res? ASSOCIATION- telegram.) TAIHAPE, March 20 (4.35 p.m.). Telephonic communication was rcitored T\'ith Raetihi and Ohaluinc at 4 p-m. to-day. Intermittent rain fell over the whole district from midday yesterday. Between the showers the fires regained forcp, but during the night it rained in torrents, transforming the ovcrpowerina brilliancy into the ctarkness of night. The rain cahie to Qjuikune just in time to save the town. The residents had fit very anxious time, believing that their homes were doomed.

The fires arc nearly out at Ractihi, and the people arc flocking back by special trains run fo)- the pprpose. £t is confidently believed that no livps were lost. Ii? addition to the Ractihi business premises destroyed, eighteen or twenty residences firo a complete loss. There is no further danger at Rangataua flr in other parts of the fire zone. Jf the losses reported prove to be accurate they will aggregate a depressing figure.

HOW THE FLAMES SWEPT ' RAETIHI. (mess association TELEGRAM.) ' TAIHAPE, March 20. All reports from Raetihi say that J. S. Ashmore's house was the first to go, followed by the nursing home, the Town Bqard's office and electrical storerooms, the Waimarino County officrs, and Anderson's butchery j then the Anglican Church and vicarage and the Methodist $nd Roman Catholic Churches. The town was encircled with fire, the buildings going on all sides. The Raetihi sash and door works, with tho recentlj>instajled machinery, and all tho adjacent buildings, rapidly fell. Mr Pratt's residence, \. allacs's new stables, 31r Tustin's beautiful residence, apd Brown's stables were simply licked up in thesdvancing flames. .The Maori pa on tho other ade of tho n \ C r r was w 'P®d clean out. Mefson's mill and Petersen's mills cqinnlctely destroyed. The only ™l'ls apt destroyed are Per ham and J'Sirson's and R. ~\V. Smith's, although tfie men's houses around both of them were burped. The loss of stock is_ very great. Many terrible experiences are related the refugees, who are flocking into laihape. Relief funds were promptlv started, and relief parties, bended bv Mr R. ' omith, M.P., arrived on tho scene of uistresi early this morning with huge supplies of bread, butter, meat, clothing. an£ drugs. "b'le. driving sheep from this district to Karioi, two drovers—Bank and Cooper—were blinded and are cqming in to tho hospital. - Sonth of Tpihape, at Ohutu, Gilchrist and Brown had their woolshed 3 destroyed. The Dos Company's works are safe, u. V?mpnpll s s nert and yards were destroyed, There are no fires near Taihape, and tho town and suburbs are quite safe. THE DEVASTATED COUNTRY. ORGANISING RELIEF. (raiiSS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, March £0. Some details of the dapaage in the neighbourhood of Ohakune were disclosed by a deputation which waited on the Hon. G. "AV. Russell at Ohakune, when on his way from Auckland to Wellington. Mr E. J. Barry, acting a S spokes-

man, said the position was that tho fire, extending practically from Horopito to Raetihi, was fanned by a gale. It swept out towards Waiouru and Pipiriki, devastating the country as it had gone. Thousands of sheep and cattle had been lost, and homestoads had been burned. Sawmillers had been heavy losers, including Messrs Mercer, Harris. Peterson, and Knight (of Raetihi), and Carter (of Horopito). All tho cottages in which the workmen lived had been wiped out. Hundreds of refugees had been brought to Ohakune and billeted with residents of the township. Large numbers of these people had spent tho night in ditches and culverts. Loss cf life was feared, but no delinite word of that aspect had come to hand. The part of tho township of Rae'ilii burned included the Town Board office, county chambers, butter factory, police station, tag* Brcs.' largo store and j-asli and door factory. Over fifty residences in the township i'.se'f had boon destroyed, as well as threo churches. The whole country was covered with logs, and the fire passe;! ain.ng them to the houses in the villago. Tho settlement on the south sido of Ohakune had suffeied considerably. Many people had miraculous escapes. The railway authorities at Ohakune li£i\6 handled tho uogition and quickly, despatching relief trains, the first going out of Ohakune .at 5.30 a.m., and the second shortly after The electric light of the district suddenly went out, leaving everyone in darkness. Hie Hon. G. "\y. Russell, in the course or ins said he did not expect the Government would be able to put cvervono back m as good a position as betoro the fire, but it would do tne nest, that was possible to relieve tho distress. He suggested that the Mayors of towns should organise collections for tho relief of the sufferers.

STATE ASSISTANCE FOR AFFLICTED SETTLERS. (press association telegram.) WELLINGTON.. March 20. The Hon. G. W. Russell has received the following telegram from the Prime Minister in reply to a telegram lie sent as the outcome of the deputation which waited upon him at Okahune: — "Thanks for your telegram, which did not roach me here (Auckland) until my arrival this forenoon. The damage and losses at Ohakune are very serious, and relief measures are we'll in hand. I am awaiting a reply from the Minister of Railways as to assistance to tho afflicted settlers by his Department in the way of free carriage of goods and free travel. The Hon. Mr Guthrie is now on the spot, and he will represent the Government. The cooppratjpn of the local bodies has heen requested." Mr Russell said he had not received any information as to the necessity for medical or ambulance help. His advice was that arrangements- had heen made to provide for those requirements. MINISTER OF LANDS ACTION. (PR!-;SS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) FEILDING. March 20. The Hon. U. H. Guthrie, Minister of Lands, has cancelled all local engagements and has gone to the Raetihi district. Owing tQ tlie seriousness of the devastating fires there, lie has instructed the experts in'the Lands Department to get to the spot immediately to give advice, and necessary to place their services at the disposal of the settlers. TERRIBLE PLIGHT OF REFUGEES. "THE GREAT STRAIN OF A ' DREADFUL NIGHT." (I'PJiSS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, MarcU 20. A passpngpr by last night's train gives some Vivid details of the sights which met travellers to Wellington. "The night was/' ho said,••bitterly gale driving with amazing fiercbijoss. It was the greatest fire, by far, that I ever saw. Tho whole country, net only on one side of the lincbut all round is ahlaze. If you can imagine the hills surrounding Wellington solid walls of fire you will getsornc idea of the spectacle. Over 300 refugees from Raetihi were taken into Ohakune.

"It was a sr\d sight, wholp families talking round with nothing in tho wor]d left but the clothes that they stood in. Particularly touching was tho sight of women and children. These poor people had a terrible experience. Half suffocated by smoke and moro than half blinded, they were in a dreadful condition. Their appearance told of the great strain of that dreadful night. "One man came in carrying a doll. We laughed, hut he only nursed it more tenderly. The story was quite touching. It was all he bad saved, and it was all the world tp the little girl who was all the world to lriin. Then there cam 9 a woman who did not know whether her husband was safe or not. He was oyt in the bush when the firo started, and now miles of flames separated them, each being upaiyaro of tho fatp of the othor. Her anxiety was great. "Things were bad at Ohakune. tho smoke being terrible. Many could endure it nq lorjgbr, so they spent the night in the river-bed. If tho wind had not changed as it did. Ohakuno would have been burned by now.

"No one can say how* the fire started, but it is presumed that someone well above Horopito was having a burn when the gale happened along. I should say that the fire extends for a hundred mije, along the lino. How f ar back it goes it is impqssible to say. It will be days and d)iy!3 befpre an estimate of the damage can be made."

A FAMILY MISSING. (rUESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WANGANUI, March 20. A largo public meeting to-night decided to establish a Bush Fire Relief Fund, to succour the Waimarino sufferers. The sum of £250 was subscribed in the room. It was also decided to take other steps to provide immediate necessities. The police received a telephone message to-niglit stating that ?T. Akersten, his wife and child are missing at Mqngaiturqa. Relief parties have been unsuccessful. Akersten is manager of Scott and Cqnnpr's property of 4000 acres, carrying 5000 sheop and 200 cattle. There is no news as to the fate of tho property.