Cayuga County, New York, USA
1897 - THE RAGING FOREST FIRES - Part of Cayuga County, N.Y., All Ablaze.

Many Farm Houses, Barns, Hay Stacks and Animals Have Been Burned - The Farmers Fighting the Flames Night and Day - There has Been No Rain in the Vicinity Since July.

AUBURN, N.Y., Oct. 18. - The northern part of Cayuga county is ablaze with forest fires which have been raging for the past two days, and nearly all the timber in the vicinity of Red Creek, Lowville, Sterling and North Victory has been destroyed. Many farm houses, barns, hay stacks and animals have been burned. The farmers are fighting the flames night and day, but as there has been on rain in the vicinity since last July, the parched condition of the ground and the muck in the swamps make their efforts almost futile.

Trenches are being dug along the Lehigh Valley railroad by section men to protect its property, and land is being plowed as rapidly as possible in the hope that the progress of the destructive blaze can be checked until rain comes. The heaviest losers are Chas. W. Eddy and Sexton Smith. Mr. Smith's woodland, which extended three miles through the villages of Red Creek and North Victory, is destroyed. He also lost a saw mill and a barn. Mr. Eddy lost about twelve acres of valuable beech and maple timber. The village of North Victory is enveloped in a cloud of dense smoke, and it is impossible to go through the town. Over 300 acres of woodland controlled by a Michigan firm have been burned to the ground. The damage done so far cannot be estimated.

The Scranton Republican
Scranton, Pennsylvania
October 19, 1897

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