BUSH FIRES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1675, 15 February 1913, Page 6

BUSH FIRES.

SEETHING MASS OF FLAME. AMIOIIS AND TRYING TIME. SAWMILLS DESTROYED. DESPERATE BATTLES WITH '..■■;."_,V; : -"-THE BLAZE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ■'. ',':'■-.•";!'■ Gisborne, February 14. .; The-M«tu and Matawai''districts aro ft toass'of flame, fiercu busli firos enveloping tho surrounding country for a distance ot about nine square miles.

Telephone wires in all directions aro 'down, so that communication with the : affected: area is impossible,' and details Wo very difficult to obtain. , :■. v .: Writing yesterday, a correspondent at Matawai, 1 which appears to be the centre of the';fi.re,'said the settlers were suffering a" deal; of ; anxiety owing to the cloro proximity'of'bush fires raging in tho neighbourhood. Mr; Korte, whoso wedding day/-it,was, was away from homo, but. his two brothers, who did not ; attend tho wedding, 'after working until they wore 'completely overcome by smoko and heat, finally left the' house'to take its chance. Tho house (a new one), strange, to say, .Hid not tako fire after all, but Mr. Korte!s llrbthoxs aro badly affected in their cyos.

Mill Completely Wrecked. ' . Sloan's sawmill was completely wrecked, and a good deal of valuable, timber doBtroyod. Only three of the whares occupied by'mill bonds escaped. The hands lad previously removed their belongings to Matawai, whore they spent the night. Tho crops of. hay .of. most of the surwranding settlers .were also destroyed. Noioss of life among the -stock ; has . been reported lat present, although sheep in Borne places havo been badly singed. The Bottlers are now busy 'removing their stock to safer "paddocks. . ' . Telephonio communication .with the more Idistant Eettlers is cut off,: bo no nows of tow they fared has been received yet. Ai Matawai, this (Friday) morning, the Eettlew were feeling very uncomfortable. (Bush fires. were raging only a ,mil© away, and the township is dead in the line of iwind. '■■.' - '" ••'•'•■'••'•'" - -. ■) : The correspondent said that personally no did not'think there was a great risk, though the fire was sufficiently close to cause, anxiety. ..',/ ■[ .Mr.'James.Gardner had his wharo conall. his. grass-seed burnt down by '■ a .'second fire .which ~broko out ,on ; the 'clearing on his section or.'run. •'■' :

■■;'■;- ; ?-"' ; Great, Line pY;Fiame.;Y'. ! , ; , "From -'mid-day of Wednesday smoul.'dering log fires, fanned'■-,by -the' 'rising ;win<], • fairly, tobk-possession of-,this country," :the, correspondent.-.'. •. "By Wednesday, afternoon a', stretch of, fourteen ' or '■'' fifteen'- mile 3 -of ' country)' from Burnard's (just .beyond Matawai) to Redpath's'property at, Eakauroai;. on the one .side,; and'Moriee's 1 property .(Upper Motii Valley Eoad)'to.Eakauroa on the other, seething mass of flameW ;-The settlers : : had ,: - an anxious', and trying time around itheir homesteads, land in trying to'resoue/stock;,,. . ;■: ; ; - ; ./.', ~■.',,

"Tho sawmill people are having a bad' time.: OScv far Mr. Hall's' 'and Messrs. •MJL'sod's;mills .at Matawai are;safe,-'but shjffe-of r-ittien'-ißie standing, by all night ready to-man ; the' firo hoses : connected with- the. mill.plant. On.the Motu Valley.'Eoa'd,'.however;' the mills of Messrs.Drnmmon'd .Bros, and Messrs. Sloan Bros, we're.'in_ danger'from the first. The .fire' off .Morice's property swept in' a" direct, line for,Sloan's mill, situated on • the property of Mr. J.'B. Clark. ■ ', \ '>

Burning Furiously, .1 '.■■'■:■.'■' '.'"•' "By 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday the cottages' of the mill-hands were alight and the last glimpse of.:tho atev through - the flames and smoke was the mill building and timber stocks burning furiously from . both ends. Meanwhile the . wives and ' families of tho mill-hands had,been hur- : nedly moved to- Matawai,' together with what household effects could be loaded on ■ tho three .available bullock wagons. As :i much other -'portable property, as could be collected in,time was buried in pits end covered .'over, with'soil.,, • •-, ■•, __'Tho .fir©' is: now. bearing down' on ' Imimmonds mill and unless the wind drops -and rain-.- comes, .it too will be retraced to a heap of-ruins': ■ ,- ',' ~ ..', -The firo along. Motu Valley Koad was ■a magnificent sight after dark.' Fences /-and telephone wires are down in all directions. Ihe Kortes were, smoked out and had ■to shift. Messrs. Marshall's/ Riddicks, Kings, nntb Buscke's properties ..are surrounded by fire. The properfcea pnncipaHy . affected are, : on %V "no 6% Messrs. Barnard's, Blair's, hereon? and Green's,.H..M. M'Konzie's, Aitken', .Abbotsford; Smith's, Smith Bros.', %fc path beyond out to the front of - Motu Road. On the other side, .Messrs MoncoVMarshnll's Riddick's; Maxwell; l-l^% J -'f-, cl % ks ; w - Clark's, Ait,:Uus, Beaufoy's, Shairt. and Grace's. .- lo give an idea of tho Tapidity of tho fire at 3 p.m. on Wednesday! Sloans wo?e putting and working the mill as usual. Iwo hoars later they wore practically surrounded by. fire. . Very few went tb deep around •■ tho -burning -areas. In ilaKauroa, pits'were dug-ready for the planting oj household goods.

;.;.'' Burned Out.' . '." v "Several of tho co-operative meri haveWen burned, out, and sonio stood by their camps all -night. • ■. '"Ihe situation is still very critical, and fresh fire-lines are advancing. - \. ■••• *- ; ■■ . "A buggy.and pair had'a'trying time* getting through from Buscke's to Matawai, tho -horses showing 'unmistakable Kgns of tho.iiotceuess -of :-tho-firo by "thosinged state of their coats." A Motu correspondent reported to-day that things-.-.vero pretty warm in that locality. A-strong north-west wind ,was blowing, and bush fires wero Taging with considerable-strength, This morning tho fires wore round Quirk's mill, which, however, it'was thought would bo quite Bafe, though-v needing to bo constantly watchod. At Messrs. Elliott's, Thompson s, Bright's, P. M. Hansen's farm, and several smaller cottages, tho settlers had ojvarm and'exhanstingtimo fighting v back tho flames, but the danger is now practically, over; Mr. Angus Frasw had also' had a very,.bad time saving „ his " property. Hills a Mass of Fire.

Tho surrounding hills were a mass of firo between? Motu and Matawni. This morning tho fires woro'very fierce, especially in tho vicinity of Hall's mill. Pfummcml'a mill was • dismantled this morning, in-tho hope of saving tho machinery, but up to 10 a.m. had not been affected, though in imminent danger. Mr. J. B. Clark, of Matawal,, is a very heavy loser of stock, but to exact-'-ly what extent is not known..■'. Tho latcstrnews to-nigbfr-states that sharp rain has temporarily checked- tho fires about Matawai, but tho danger is not by any 'means over. The telephono wire to Matawai and Kakauroa' is how (10 p.m. Friday) down, and efforts aro being made fd communicate with the settlers, per medium of the Public Works Department's telephone, ;which connects Gisborno with the railway-works. ; .

Advice from the Mangatn district indicates that the position, although relieved, was^still,'.- occasioning .anxiety this afternoon,' owing to the fact that a.'heavy north-west gale was bloving.

Homestead Afire, Mr. W. Turnbnll, 'of Messrs. Kells and Turnbnll, stated that he ha 3 been practically burnt'out, over. 3000 acres having been fired. The homestead was afire again on two occasions last night, butalthongh alono he succeeded in putting, out the ,flames. I-cgs in the vicinity are-still srouldering,'butrhpniain fire has passr-<! fortunately,' Mrs. Turnbull was away in rov,-n. Thevlbstfbf 'sh'cop 'ls" v not' exlifctod'tfl'bc heavy, as Mr. Turnbnll sne-Vc-ilr''. in moving th" bulk of tha ,stock on Tuesday. Mr. Turubull, who, was

practically blind yesterday, is recovering his eyesight, and tho men who were sent from Mr. Tulloch's place aro also recovering. RUAROA AND PIRIPIRt . ' BUILDINGS DESTROYED. ' • Dannovirke, February 14. Settlers in tho Euaroa ami Piripiri set tlcment's have had ah anxious time during the lost few days. Bush fires raging through both blocks have occasioned confiidorablo damage to property and stock. The'full extent o£ tho damage is not yet ascertainable. '. .. .

The buildings on. tho properties ot Afessrsi A. Yarrnll, F. Yerrnll, S. and R. h'airbrothers, Sullivan, Doughi, and Morris, at Euaroa, and Aylward's, at Piripiri, have been destroyed. Rain fell last night, and checked tho flames temporarily, but a gale is blowing again to-day, aud makes the position, serious.