rail and floated to the dam where they were drawn up into the mill, cut and then dried in kilns next to the mill on the west bank of Tenmile Creek. From this location, lumber was floated to Sanger, California, in a flume filled with water from the reservoir. The flume was the longest ever created, eventually stretching from Hume Lake to Sanger. Designed and built by James Carroll Goss, the flume was used by both the lumber company and tourists. Thrill seeking tourists would occasionally ride in the flume down from the Sierras in special boats designed with an open prow so that water would help keep the boats from flying off into the air. The flume was also reputedly utilized in 1893 by the bandit Chris Evans, of the Evans-Sontag Gang of Train Robbers, who hid along the flume to evade capture after escaping from the Fresno County Jail with his accomplice Ed Morrell. The dam and reservoir survive today little changed from their original appearance in 1908. The dam stands in height and extends in length. The dam is founded on granite bedrock and consists of twelve arches, which are supported by intervening buttresses on the downstream side. The height was set at because of a tract of land not owned by Hume-Bennet along the reservoir's edge that would have been inundated by water if the dam had been built any higher. The water level was maintained at a level slightly lower than it typically is today, through the use of spillway openings in the dam structure, which have since been filled. End of logging Hume-Bennett thoroughly harvested the forests surrounding Hume Lake following completion of the dam, but paltry profits and a devastating fire in 1917 led to the end of logging operations. The fire completely destroyed the mill and surrounding facilities, with all logging ceasing by 1924. On April 8, 1935, the United States Forest Service purchased the entire operation and its holdings, including the dam and forest surrounding Hume Lake, incorporating it into the Sequoia National Forest. Dam repairs From 1953 to 1954, the lake was drained for a safety inspection. During the inspection, it was apparent the dam was unfit and the lake would remain empty. The board of Hume Lake Christian Camps approached the California Fish and Game Department suggesting the dam be resurfaced. A six-inch cement coating was applied to the