Fire! Fire!

When my son Andrew was in Grade 1, he set a new record for the 60 metres sprint at the school's annual Sports Day. Very excited he said to me 'I broke the record' and then in a somewhat more subdued voice he said 'What's a record?' That record stood for many years I am proud to say!
Well, on Tuesday 3 March 2015 a new record was set.

Not for running, but for HEAT!

At noon at Cape Town Airport, the temperature hit an all time high at 42 degrees C. That is the highest since records were started a hundred years ago in 1915.

And here in our little village we suffered the same searing heat and an all time high. When we woke up at just after 07.00, it was already 24 degrees C.
At 10.48 it was 34
At 11.35 it was 41
Then at 12.44 the wind swung round completely, we had a few minutes 'whiff' from Seal Island, and the temperature dropped in minutes to 30 degrees. At 13.28 it was 28 degrees. By the time we took Alfie (and Basil) for a walk at 18.00 it was actually quite chilly at 19 degrees! And during the night we had fog and a splattering of rain!

Wednesday it was 21 maximum!


But, that was the least of Cape Town's worries.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, 1 March, a fire started in the mountain above Muizenburg. By Monday it was raging out of control helped by a strong wind and spreading faster than the fire fighters could cope with it. By Tuesday it had engulfed homes and a Lodge and thousands of acres of fynbos and pristine indigenous protected mountain areas. Hundreds of volunteers arrived to work in the searing heat and fire fighters from as far away as Bloemfontein were called in. It spread to Noordhoek, Tokai, Hout Bay, Constantia and by Wednesday, it was still spreading. Helicopters (five of them in total), were flying from dawn to dusk and water bombing the flames, and crop sprayers were called in to help. Roads were closed and the Argus Cycle Tour, scheduled for Sunday 8 March, has been shortened and re-routed. Schools were closed, not because of the flames but because of the smoke. But, even though the weather was a lot cooler and some drizzle had fallen, it was still out of control and people were evacuated from homes that were in the line of fire.

But what would you take if you had to leave in a hurry? Rob and I talked about it, there is so much that cannot be carried. We would take our computers, passports and ID books, and of course, our beloved animals.

And the wild animals? Many of them lost their lives, trapped in the flames and unable to escape. Tortoises, snakes, mice, mongooses, buck, all the little animals that make up life on the mountains. The baboons will hopefully manage, they will forage underground and find roots and bulbs and probably head over to neighbouring territory. (We heard that several baboons were injured and at least four died). The lucky animals made it through to safety, but tortoises are by nature 'creatures of habitat', and are more difficult to re-locate. Wildlife organisations appealed for water and containers and these were left in safe areas for dehydrated animals that made it through the flames. I realise that fires are a natural part of life, alien vegetation is removed and some fynbos requires heat to re-seed itself. But, they bring a lot of destruction along with the regeneration.

We  donated money to an animal organisation that was on standby to help the SPCA, as there must be pets that are lost in the chaos and will need help to be re-united with their families.

And the fire-fighters?

They worked beyond exhaustion, and appeals went out over the local radio station for donations of chocolate, coffee, jelly babies, eye drops, sandwiches, water, ice, and the people of Cape Town stepped forward, as they always do. Businesses donated food, petrol, food items. And money. Even Retirement Homes collected money from the residents, with one challenging every other Home to do the same. In fact, Cape Talk Radio set up a 'phone-athon' on Wednesday morning, and well over three million rand was raised by early evening as people, businesses and banks dug deep into already strained pockets and answered the challenge! The money will be used for training volunteer fire-fighters and upgrading existing equipment and replacing old and broken items.

But, by Thursday the fires were 'contained', all except for one at Cape Point Nature Reserve that was started by a lightning strike, and everyone is hoping that this is the beginning of the end of the burn.

But of course, there is always a human negative side isn't there? Sadly, and typically, as homes were being evacuated, they were being looted.

I am wondering if this fire will set a new record for a mountain blaze.

Let's hope that if it does, it's a record that is never broken.