 That same year, reflecting on the prosperity of the coal mines, the city's second bank was chartered.By 1914, Cle Elum's population had risen to 3,000 from about 100 at the turn of the 20th century.Cle Elum's greatest disaster occurred on June 25, 1918, when a huge fire wiped out over seventy acres of the city (29 city blocks) causing over $500,000 (about $ today) in damages.