(I became acquainted with Robert Kellogg when I was asked to critique a book he was writing called, “50 True Tales of Northern Idaho.” Robert has had a colorful career in Sandpoint: Ad sales and announcing for Norm Bauer at KSPT radio, writing for the Sandpoint News Bulletin, manager of the Panida Theater for Floyd Grey, just to name a few. He began researching old newspapers when he was with Lauren Pietsch at the News Bulletin, and today’s story comes from that research. It reflects a Sandpoint of yesteryear that some of you will remember. Here is Robert’s story - in his own words.)

The pleasant spring evening of Thursday, April 28, 1910, turned into a wild night of devastating fire in the giant lum­beryard of Humbird's sawmill. The spectacular scene un­folded west of Sand Creek and north of Sandpoint, near the present junction of highways 95 and 200.

Fire was first discovered about sundown in the lath shed at the western end of the mammoth lumberyards. Quickly, the alarm was sounded and every available employee on shift rushed to the scene. All fire fighting equipment in Sandpoint was called into battle. Soon twelve streams of water were pouring toward the flames, with the big pumps of the Hum­bird plant hooked into the city water system to increase pres­sure, to no avail.

Even before the hoses were laid, the fire had already spread to other sheds and into the huge piles of stored lumber. The heat was so intense the fire crews barely could get close enough for the streams of water to reach the flames. Then the Humbird pumps broke down under the load, and water pressure dropped to a useless level.

Pile after pile of lumber caught fire. At times, a pile many yards from the main fire would explode with a gusty roar. Stacks of green lumber would begin to steam, then smoke, and then erupt in a mass of flames, sending sparks into the darken­ing April sky. Hot whirlwinds tore blazing planks from the piles and tossed them around the yard, some of them starting new fires where they landed. Two-by-fours by the dozens stood on end and performed a macabre fiery dance on top of their stacks.

As the conflagration raged through the night, offers of help came from communities all around the area. Spokane fire department authorities offered to send part of that city's fire fighting equipment, but all on the Humbird scene agreed no amount of gear could help them now.

At the peak of the fire, 100 acres of lumber piles were ablaze. Nearly the entire population of Sandpoint was on hand to watch, crowding every nearby observation point. A line of viewers half a mile long stretched across Hum­bird's wagon bridge over Sand Creek. Mill workers and residents were crowded on top of boxcars close by and remained there even as Northern Pacific and Great Northern switch engines moved the cars from danger.

For a time it looked as though the fire would block traffic on the Northern Pacific main line. Any blockage of a major rail line in those turn-of-the-century days was in itself serious news, since there were no other comparable transportation fa­cilities then. By the time westbound passenger train No. 3 ar­rived on the scene, the flames were close to the right-of-way. After stopping to look over the situation, the engineer gave the train full throttle, and it roared through safely to the pas­senger depot in Sandpoint.

Dynamite crews went to work blasting lumber piles and sheds near the saw and planing mills. Based on the successful use of dynamite during the San Francisco earthquake fire just four years earlier, the efforts of the Humbird blasting teams likewise proved to be the key in gaining control of this disas­ter. Smashing a wide swath ahead of the fire saved the two main buildings. The encircled conflagration then could do nothing more than turn inward on itself and burn away all the available fuel.

The morning sunlight, filtered through a smoky canopy, revealed that all but a few piles of lumber were gone. Over twenty million board feet had been destroyed, with the finan­cial loss set at over four hundred thousand dollars. Two thirds of that amount was covered by insurance.

With the planer and sawmill undamaged, Humbird contin­ued operation on a 24-hour basis, drawing dry lumber stock from its mill in neighboring Kootenai to fill urgent orders.

Humbird's Sandpoint mill had experienced a previous fire in March, 1907. That time the sawmill was lost, but the yard lumber was saved. Damage then amounted to $125,000. The same firm had suffered another earlier fire at Mason, Wiscon­sin, prior to establishing its presence in Idaho.

The Humbird Company continued to operate in the Sand­point area until its plant was dismantled and sold in the 1930's during the depression years when demand for finished lumber was at its all-time low.