Susanville Battles Fire Which Destroys Buildings And Is Menace to Town
Property Burning at City Limits: Large Loss Reported
Ice Company Plant, Store, Restaurant, Fuel Yard and Homes in Ashes
Control of Conflagration Hinged This Afternoon On One Structure
The fire was checked at three o’clock. Loss estimated at $100,000.
Lack of fire hydrants hampered the firefighters.
June 09, 1930
One of the most destructive fires to visit Susanville in several years was raging this afternoon just at the edge of the city limits and a large force of men including the firefighting equipment of the Lassen Lumber & Box Company was trying at two o’clock to check the flames.
Because the fire was outside the city limits, the Susanville fire department did not respond to the alarm.
At two o’clock, the Union Ice company’s plant, the Borghi grocery store, the China restaurant, the lumber yard owned by the late Paul Quigley, the Quigley apartment house with all its contents, the Red River Lumber Company’s sub-station and two dwelling houses, had been destroyed.
The office equipment of Quigley’s lumber company was saved but all the remaining contents of the apartment house in which the office was located was burned.
At two o’clock the fire was confined to a two-story building and if that is saved then it would be expected the fire would be checked on its advance towards the town of Susanville. All the property destroyed is on the Richmond road south of Susanville.
The fire started in a small shed in the rear of the Borghi store. No water was available to fight it and it spread rapidly.
The two houses burned included the Staup residence and the Dr. Cooley residence.
