468 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



November^ 



surely have perished had it not been for 

 Speleyah Prairie, which is a clover 

 meadow one mile long and one-half a 

 mile wide, the only opening in the for- 

 est for many miles. 



FARM PROPERTY DESTROYED. 



In the three counties, Cowlitz, Clarke, 

 and Skamania, one hundred and sixty- 

 five settlers are known to have had their 

 homes burned by the recent fires. Hun- 

 dreds more sustained some loss of prop- 

 erty. The following are approximate 

 losses : 



Farm buildings (and furnishings'*. . . | [90,000 



Stock ... 95,000 



Ha3% grain, and damage to pastures. 175,000 



Fences . 34,000 



Machinery, wagons, etc . 28,000 



Fruit trees 85,000 



Total |6o7,ooo 



SAWMILI^S AND MANUFACTURED FOREST 

 PRODUCTS. 



Sawmills |62,ooo 



Sawed lumber 35, 000 



Shingles 3!ooo 



Logs (on skid) 24,000 



Pihng 4,000 



Telegraph and telephone poles (on 



skid) 1,000 



Railroad ties (on skid) 7,000 



Cord-wood (read}- for market) 45,000 



Total |i8i,ooo 



MISCEI.I,ANEOUS LOSSES. 



School-houses and churches ...... 



County bridges 



Buildings at mines 



Total 



128,000 



25,000 



8,000 



)I,000 



GREEN TIMBER DAMAGED. 



With the exception of about 150,000 

 acres, all of the immense area burned 

 over by the recent fires in these three 

 counties is very heavily timbered. The 

 150,000 acres allows for all clearings 

 made by farmers, all cut-over lands, and 

 all old burns; also a few thousand acres 

 of bare rock exposures on the mountain 

 peaks. The remaining area after de- 

 ducting this is 284,000 acres. 



The timber here was fully as heavy a 

 stand as the Oregon timber and of better 

 quality; therefore we can safely employ 



the same factor in computing board feet,- 

 284,000 acres at 17,700 feet per acre- 

 gives 5,026,800,000 feet as the amount 

 of Douglas Spruce killed. That this is. 

 not too high an estimate is shown by the 

 fact that all of townships 5 N., R. 4E., 

 and 4 N., R. 4 E., at the head of Cedar 

 Creek , will average more than 20 , 000, 000 

 feet, B. M., to the section. Previous to 

 -the fires timber claims in this locality 

 were being bought up at $8,000 each.. 

 Considering the stumpage to have been 

 worth one dollar per thousand, the- 

 total stand of Douglas Spruce killed 

 in these three counties alone was worth 

 $5,026,800. 



The approximate values of other tim- 

 ber destroyed are as follows: 



Green and dry Cedar [Thuya pli- 



cala) 1250,000- 



Hemlock. ... 275,000 



Larch 200,000 



$725,000 

 Douglas Spruce 5,o26,8oo. 



Total value of standing timber 



killed 15,751,800- 



Vast tracts are left without a living 

 tree. Thousands of acres will soon be 

 a wilderness of rank ferns, salal, and 

 huckleberry bushes. In the rougher 

 portions of the mountains burned over 

 there are many small tracts which were 

 somewhat protected from the wind and 

 thus escaped complete destruction. The 

 seed trees left upon these tracts are suf- 

 ficient to bring about reproduction over 

 much of the territory, though much of 

 the burned country will remain tree- 

 less for many years. 



Along the North Fork of Eewis River 

 where the fire was most severe, the soil 

 has been left in a very loose condition 

 and is washing badly. The humus is 

 entirely burned off and about two inches 

 of ashes left instead. 



RECAPITUI^ATION OF LOSSES. 



Farm property, exclusive of timber . f 607,00a 

 Sawmills and manufactured forest 



products 18 r ,000 



Miscellaneous (schools, churches, 



bridges, etc. ) . . 61,000- 



Timber 5,751,800 



Total |6,6oo,8oo- 



