The forest fire which races across the large section of the island known as “The Plains” lasted two days and burned through to West Tisbury. More than 200 men had a hard fight before the flames were subdued.
Two and a half hours from the start the fire reached Pine farm, owned by Ariel B. Scott, where the flames claimed a barn, destroyed a corn crib, hen houses and a building in which were two incubators, wagon and tools and a flock of hens.
COTTAGE CITY, Sept. 26, 1892.
At 11.45 on Saturday night, watchman Lewis rung in the alarm from box 41, at the Arcade, and people jumped from their beds and rushes to the windows and saw, with dismay, the eastern sky brilliantly illuminated, directly over the Sea View House. Cries of “Fire!” “Fire!” “The Sea View House!” “The Sea View House!!” rent the stillness of the night, the light in the heavens contrasting vividly with the darkness, the sky being overcast with heavy clouds, from which at times the rain descended, as if weeping in sorrow over the awful catastrophe.
Last Sunday, at about ten o’clock, with a high wind blowing from the westward, afterwards more southerly, a fire started in Quampacha Bottom, on Dr. Fisher’s Road, so called, and about one mile in from the highway leading to West Tisbury, and soon gathering headway begun a career of galloping destruction through the Bottom lands for some three miles, coming out on the Vineyard Haven road at various points between the Jeremiah Weeks farm, now owned by David S. Beetle, and a point to the north of Wilbur’s corner.