Fire!

[Lillefot]

Hello gang!
Middle of a crisis here you could say...

I was driving back home from work yesterday when I saw a giant pillar of black smoke rising from the woods.
More bad is, it came from my area. The area were I live.

There are now 4 forest fires in the area.  
The fire department has been fighting them over night, and said that they had controll.
Now, one of the fires has spread. It has gone so far that the whole area, from my house (middle of the forest) and down to the village has been classified with danger of life.
Part of the village has been evaquated.

Me, my family and neighbours should be rather safe, there are several bogs between us and the fires.
This is the largest forest fire, and only one in this area since around 1996 I think.
Tragic is, the odds of 4 fires starting in the same day, within the same area, is rarther small.
The police have reason to belive that part of it may have been planted.

The damage done will take years, even decades to revitalize... it's so sad. So utterly sad... :unsure:

[Malte279]

My goodness! I hope that they really manage to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading any further. I hope the weather has not been too dry of lately to make the spreading of the fire even easier. It is just crazy how certain people for love of sheer destruction will willingly risk lives, well being, happiness, and property of fellow human beings (not to mention the senseless destruction of nature, plants, and animals) just for the satisfaction of seeing something go up in flame
Please keep us informed on the developments Gustav. I do hope that nobody else was injured or killed or lost his or her belongings to the fire

[Kor]

I hope things turn out ok.  Though it may seem bad, some recent study I've seen has seem to indicated that part of the reason forest fires are so bad is since for over a century they had the policy of total suppression when controlled burns seems to keep the forest healthier and forest fires tend to spread less and have less of a chance of becoming those wild forest fires we've all heard about.  I think nova, or some other pbs show, had a show about it a year or 2 ago.

[Littlefoot1616]

Jeez Lillefot!  That's really bad man! Glad to hear you and your neighbours are safe. Do they know the cause of the fire? You said it might have been "planted"? Do you mean someone might have started it? Lit cigarette thrown into bushes or something? that's scary stuff man...at least you're safe.

[raga]

You are right Kor, but knowledge of this is nothing new.  Many types of forests depend on wildfire's for their very survival.  There are actually several species of trees that will not release their seeds unless they are heated up to a certain temperature, a temperature that only fire can provide.  The reasoning behind this is that the fires will leave behind a deep layer of charred organic material, which acts as an excellent fertilizer.  All these years we have been trying to protect these areas by controlling fires, but ironically all we've been doing is slowly killing them.  Unfortunately there is no simple solution, controlled burning helps, but its not perfect.

[Amaranthine]

I'm sorry about this Lillefot. I'm glad you and your neighbors are okay. *hugs*

[NeoGenesis005]

The Dry season is the worse time of the year.  Especially when the water supply is low for the Fire.  I hope anyone in that area didn't get caught in it.

[Lillefot]

Here's an update.

As it looks now, most of the fires have been extinguished.
The police has allowed traffic to pass trough the local road again.

I think that the fire down by the village is still raging. However, it's under controll; that is, it won't spread.

There has been several helicopters and fire trucks in the area the whole day, and I know for sure that one of the fires has been put out.

Looks like things are chilling down at the time. I hope that it will remain doing so.
And a note: When I said "my area", I didn't mean anything visible from my place.
Yet, they haven't been more than 10 kilometres away. Close enough to put out the sun.

I can add, no reports of injuries on both men and properties has been reported.
I think we're safe now.  

But still, the damage done to the nature... Horrible...

[Coyote_A]

I don't think there is a logical reason why anyone would have started a fire on purpose. Natural disasters are getting harder to predict these days because of unstable ecological situation and weather anomalies. There were lots of forest fires in my region too recently, i remember days when the city was drowned in smokes and it was hard to breathe. Still, anything is possible... It's good to know, noone got hurt after all.

[NaNaNa]

Thats gut wrenchingly ironic. Lack of forest fires leading to an inevitable augmented wildfire.

I really do hope it doesnt happen again. But its good that no one got hurt.

[Cancerian Tiger]

I'm glad you're safe, Lillefot, along with your family and neighbors .  Hopefully it was not planted by pyromaniac arsonists.  That terrible one in Austrailia recently should be heeded as a warning to anyone out there who may have the intention of committing arson .  Fire is beautiful, especially its colors, but not when it's causing destruction.  Seriously, why can't folks burn candles or have campfires or some other form of contained fire use?  We nature lovers certainly don't appreciate it when these punks come around and torch the trees .  Anyhoo, I'm glad to see you're safe.