And more fire!

A fire was started at the side of the road near Ocean View last night. I was at the garage filling up with petrol and on my way to a Toastmasters meeting when I saw the first wisps of brown smoke, which became billows as I watched. I pointed it out to the pump jockey and a woman with a child on their bicycles and we all knew that this was not going to be good. The tinder-dry vegetation and very strong southeaster would ensure that the fire spread literally as wildfire, and as I drove past and looked up the hill, I saw that it was moving apace towards Kommetjie. A few minutes later I passed the first of two fire engines on their way to do the best they could.

Three hours later, I returned home and the entire Slangkop mountain was ablaze from one end to the other. As I drove into Kommetjie, the roads were lined on both sides with rubberneckers out to see whether any houses would burn down. I couldn’t count them all, but there must have been 10 fire engines, 15 emergency vehicles, water trucks,  police and traffic vehicles along the main road and up the mountain above Slangkop lighthouse. Komwatch were by now blocking all non-residents from entering the area, as the firefighters needed rubberneckers like a hole in the head. One resident reported seeing someone throw a cigarette butt from a car window – I think a swift blow to the side of the head would have been a fine idea.

I turned down my road, barely able to find it for all the flashing red and blue lights – it was more exciting than a light show – and could see that the houses above the main road were being threatened by the flames that leapt from tree to tree, each exploding on contact and the crackling of the burning leaves making a fearsome noise. A thick pall of smoke hung over the village as our heroic firefighters dragged their heavy hoses up the mountain over extremely difficult terrain.

Across the road from us, the fire engines were refilling their tanks from the fire hydrant, which made us feel secure, as we have a rather large myrtle hedge that I have been trying to have chopped down for years now and the thought of a spark catching that was frightening in the extreme – our wooden house would be ash in moments. There is also a large thatched roof nearby.

We spent a few hours watching the flames coming over the crest of the mountain and then were able to rest easy, as the fire was then on the leeward side and more containable. Miraculously, all the flames suddenly died down – thanks to the beaters risking their lives among the boulders and cliff face (tragically, one volunteer lost his life – apparently a heart attack) – and we were able to take to our beds, safe in the knowledge that we have a fire and rescue service of the highest calibre, manned by people who offer their services for the common good.

It is disheartening to know that these fires are deliberately started, placing lives and property at risk, and most of all, destroying the flora and fauna who may be unable to flee the flames, and that there is very little chance of punishment. A suitable sentence, I think, would be for all arsonists to be compulsory firefighters for 20 years.

The strange thing is that, in the light of day, the whole side of the mountain above Slangkop shows very little sign of there having been a fire. The thickets of rooikrantz are still there, as big a fire hazard as ever.  This is an appropriate time for the unemployed to clear this alien vegetation once and for all.