1288 



Canadian Forestry Journal, September, 1917 



CONSEQUENCES OF 



A DROPPED MATCH 



MINIMUM FINE 



FOR GUILTY PERSON 



,t, II nil II, 



"Seldom has the city been subject- 

 ed to more apprehension and excite- 

 ment than that occasioned last Fri- 

 day night when word came in that 

 26 men who were fighting the forest 

 fire on the east side of Kalamalka 

 Lake had been siirroiinded by the 

 flames and were shut off from es- 

 cape," says the Vernon, B. C. 

 "News". All sorts of wild rumors 

 were prevalent and relief parties 

 were rushed out to the lake from all 

 quarters, every available car in the 

 city being called into requisition. 

 The worry and uncertainty continued 

 through the night, many of the men, 

 most of whom were members of the 

 B.C. Horse, having wives and fam- 

 ilies in town, whose suspense was 

 almost unbearable, until the welcome 

 news was received shortly after day- 

 break that all the men had succeeded 

 in fighting their way through the 

 girdle of flames, and had emerged 

 safely. 



A Terrible Ordeal 

 The men who were subjected to 

 this fiery ordeal and who so narrowly 

 escaped a terrible death are not likely 

 soon to forget their experience of last 

 Friday night. They had been fight- 

 ing the fire all day under a broiling 

 sun, with the thermometer over 

 ninety in the shade, and the heavy 

 gales of wind which came up in the 

 afternoon and blew steadily all night, 

 swept the flames through the timber 

 at a terrific pace. Faint with hunger, 

 heat and thirst the men at times were 

 taxed to the uttermost to maintain 

 their struggle to reach a point of 

 safety, and at times some of them 

 were so exhausted as to almost suc- 

 cumb to weariness and despair. Their 

 escape was almost miraculous and 

 furnishes one of the most thrilling 

 chapters in the history of fire-fighting 

 in this district. One of their pack 

 horses was burnt to death but for- 

 tunately all the men escaped without 

 any injury beyond the strain of ex- 



As a result of charges laid by G. 

 C. Melrose, District Forester, L. 

 Norris, S.M., conducted an inquiry 

 into the origin of the forest 

 fire on the east side of Kalamalka 

 Lake, and four men were charged 

 with having illegally set out the fire 

 w^hich caused the conflagration that 

 raged through the timber for three 

 weeks. 



Joseph Montague, Henry Slater, 

 Chas. E Fraser and Lawrence Cars- 

 well were tried on this charge, the 

 prosecution being conducted on be- 

 half of the Forestry Department by 

 \V. H. D. Ladner. The accused were 

 not represented by counsel. 



Magistrate's Dictum 



After hearing evidence in connec- 

 tion with the case on Thursday and 

 Friday, the charges against Fraser 

 and Slater were dropped by the prose- 

 cution. On Monday the Magistrate 

 dismissed the case against Montague, 

 but found Carswell guilty and in- 

 flicted upon him a fine of fifty dollars. 



haustion to which they were sub- 

 jected. 



A Devastating Fire. 

 The fire which now extends over 1 5 

 miles in length has been burning for 

 nearly three weeks. At one time Mr. 

 Melrose, the chief forester, along with 

 Fire Rangers McCluskey and Mohr 

 thought that they had the blaze well 

 under control, but the high winds of 

 last week gave it a fresh start. It 

 is the worst forest fire that has raged 

 here for the past twenty-five years. 



From a manufacturer in Baden, 

 Ont. : "I am very glad of having the 

 opportunity of joining the Canadian 

 Forestry Association as I think it is 

 engaged in a splendid work. My 

 thanks are due to you for the chance 

 to assist even if only in a small way." 



