Blowing Rock, Aug. 20—Perhaps one of the biggest forest fires in history is now raging in the Blue Ridge Mountains, near Linville and Blowing Rock. Grandfather Mountain, which is government property and is the scene which was proposed some time ago for a national park, is now a raging mass of flames due to the fact that there has been practically no rain in the mountains this summer. The fire is spreading at a terrific rate. A strong wind tends to facilitate this.
Numerous smaller fires can be served to spring up in various adjacent sections of the mountains. Efforts to fight the fire seem futile, due to the strong winds and general drought. The flames are spreading at such a rate that any efforts to check them seem useless. The only hope is for a heavy rain which at this time does not seem likely. Unless rain comes soon there is no telling how great the loss will be. It has been estimated that already millions of dollars worth of timber has been destroyed. However, the biggest loss of all will not be the material losses but the charring of this mountain country’s greatest resource—its incomparable scenic beauty.
From the front page of The Concord Daily Tribune, August 21, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1925-08-21/ed-1/seq-1/
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