104 Cani'lian Fore-try Journal. 



oiu' time tlic whole surrounding country appeared to be suffer- 

 ing, but how far the fires reached back it was impossible to say 

 as no one seemed to know where they ended. In response to the 

 request for an estimate of the destruction the agent states that 

 this is fairly a poser, but there is no doubt that a great amount 

 of destruction was done by the past summer's fires. To say nothing 

 of the loss to miners and prospectors of their buildings, tools, 

 &c., the destruction of timber and young forest was most de- 

 plorable. 



A significant fact in view of the rapid railway development 

 in Canada at the present time, is that given in the following 

 paragraph : — 



" The most serious of the three (fires) occurred near Ehott, 

 and was supposed to be caused by the fires getting away from the 

 men clearing the right of way on the new railway line of the 

 Great Northern Railway Co. from Grand Forks to Phoenix. 

 This fire burned for a considerable time among fallen timber, and 

 though efforts were immediately made to check it. it was only 

 after a rainfall that any successful stop was put to it."' 



The agent reporting from West Kootenay dqes not attempt 

 to give any description of the fires or the loss, merely stating that 

 it iraist have been considerable. He does not think that a fire war- 

 den service could be made large enough to be effective and winds 

 up with the suggestion that " perhaps the most effective preven- 

 tion would be a heav}' and opportune rain." Whether this is a 

 suggestion to the Govemme<nt of British Columbia to go into the 

 rain-making business is not clear, but it certainly sounds like the 

 counsel qf despair. 



This is a general statement of the reports received and while 

 the details are necessarily not definite, they show clearly that the 

 loss to the Province has been large and point to the necessit}"- of 

 some more decisive action than has vet been taken. 



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