Thursday 3 June 2010
Between 4 and 5am
A short thunderstorm wakes me in Somerset West. Jipe barks at the thunder. I go back to sleep. A bit of rain falls, but not much.
About 10am
Dad calls from Betty’s Bay: “Just want to let you know the mountain above us is on fire. No need to panic yet, just an early warning.” Obviously this morning’s lightning started a fire. I go about the day as per normal and check in with the folks from time to time.
About 10pm
I talk to mom. They’ve packed essentials (change of clothes, documentation) and placed everything in the entrance hall. Friends in the community have been quick and generous with offers of help. Two of their largest paintings have already been moved to the Ficks. The Bossengers brought their trailer to the house and it is filled with books and wine. Books would be difficult to pack in a hurry – my folks have quite a large number of books they would be devastated to lose. Wine would be awkward to pack in a hurry. A dropped bottle can never be recovered. I wish them well and go to sleep.
11pm
I’m woken by an SMS. “Packing cars”. I have a difficult night tossing and turning, wondering what’s going on in Betty’s Bay but not wanting to call and wake them or interfere with things at a possibly critical moment.
Friday 4 June 2010
8am
I call the Bossengers. The folks are still in the house – it hasn’t burned down yet. Call the folks. Mom answers. Fire still a way off, but probably just a few hours away. She’s had two hours of sleep. Dad is talking to the fire chaps up the road in the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens. Sister Cathy & her husband John are on their way from Cape Town. I decide to leave it up to dad to decide if they need me. He calls later and I take the seats out of Melanie’s car and pack the roofracks, grab a torch, pocket camera, cellphone and charger and I’m off – leaving the wife to look after the dogs.
9:30am
Drive into Betty’s Bay. Quite a lot of smoke in the mountains, blowing in an easterly direction. The folks’ and Sue’s cars are packed and pointing down the road, ready to go. My aunt and uncle, Lewis and Caroline are in their house next door with cousin David. There is fire burning at the top of the mountain on our left (right-hand slope of the Voorberg), ahead on the flank of the Platberg and above Leopard’s kloof and also high up on the mountain to the right (referred to by some as Elephant Rock mountain). The veld on the other side of the mountains above us has already burnt from west to east all the way to the Palmiet river.
This is a great fire, ideal for fynbos. The veld is in need of a burn – the last fire to go through here was in 1991. Because it is burning in June and not in the heat of February, it is moving slowly. Also fire advances much slower going downhill than uphill. The burn to Palmiet was in a long valley pretty much aligned with the wind direction, so there’s no wonder such a large area burnt so quickly. This fire is just like the fires that raged unhindered before the advent of firefighters. Started naturally by lightning high up in remote areas and burning over vast areas for weeks. The only difference is that now the firefighters are here to contain the fire when it gets low enough to threaten houses.
The problem for us is threefold. If the fire on our left reaches the Jeugkamp opposite us and gets into the Eucalyptus and Acacia trees there it will be very difficult to stop. The Australian trees burn very easily and with much more ferocity than the fynbos. If the fire comes down Disa kloof and along the river there is a large patch of Palmiet that will burn very well and then it is into the wooded area at the back of our property. If it comes from the Zigzag path on the left of Leopard’s kloof, it could follow the same path too.
The unoccupied house next door is the closest to the mountain and has a thatched roof. John & I disconnect the two gas bottles on the outer wall and drag them into the middle of the lawn where they are less likely to compound the problem should the fire reach the house. Looking at the Eucalypts opposite, we decide to lop off a few low-hanging branches that overhang the fynbos.
11am
Suddenly there is a lot of smoke pouring down the Disa kloof. We go up the road to see if we can figure out what this means for our situation. It doesn’t look too good. I take the camera and climb up the slope ’till I find a rock to stand on that affords a decent view up the kloof. From there I can see that the fire low in the kloof is on the right bank of the river and the wind is pushing it up the back of the Zigzag path koppie (Bobbejaanskop). The line of fire on the left bank is still high up and burning slowly. This means the situation is still relatively ok. I wish I had worn my climbing boots. The boots I’m wearing are a bit rough on the feet in the thin socks I’m wearing.
After lunch we see a blue fire helicopter fly over and land in the Gardens. The next time we see it is when it leaves at sunset. It has a water bucket but is not deployed to fight the fire which is not yet threatening any houses.
4pm
We take a drive to see the backburn that we have heard is taking place above Sunny Seas. It is very impressive. There are two lines of fire burning above and parallel to the houses. Many people armed with beaters are encouraging the fire to burn up the slope to meet the fire that is already burning higher up. (Later we hear of an irate resident threatening to sue a firefighter for starting the backburn. He claimed that the firefighter was endangering his property when precisely the opposite was the case. Incredible! You’d think that someone with a house in the heart of this fynbos area would have some understanding of fires.)
4:30pm
We take ourselves and the dog for a walk. This provides quite a good perspective on the fire. It is amazing how different it looks from close-up and from afar.
6pm
We can see a lot of flame in the Gardens at the lower part of the Zigzag path. This looks pretty threatening. We pack John’s bakkie and Melanie’s car and put the (very heavy) oak dining room table on the roof of Melanie’s car. All the cars are facing away from the house and fire so we can get in and go if we need to do so.
Pieter and Marieke de Waal very kindly bring us a delicious Bobotie and Rice supper. We enjoy it with a fine bottle of red wine.
It is dark now and the flames look all the more impressive.
About 10pm
The firefighters who have worked on the backburn to the right of the Gardens and in the Gardens arrive and set up in the road in front of the house and amongst the trees in the Jeugkamp. A group of beaters file past us up the road singing. We begin to feel less tense now that the pros are here! The diesel-engined tenders are not turned off and run all night. With the constant noise of the crackling fire (with occasional “whooshes” as the flames reach stashes of high fuel loads) we have a new background of sound.
10:50pm
I see the most awesome fire I have ever seen in my life. Some flames rush up the side of Leopard’s kloof in seconds. The flames cover an area about 300 metres in length and about 10 in width so quickly that anyone in its path would have had no chance to escape it. The flames rage in the wind and in their own created wind. Astonishing. It highlights just how important it is to leave firefighting to well-equipped and well-trained professional teams. My admiration for them is tremendous.
11pm
The firefighters start a backburn up the road on the left (below where I had sat as a lookout earlier). It’s pretty scary – a huge amount of fire and orange light. Masses of bright orange fiery embers float high up into the night sky. Then the big one. They start a backburn on Rod’s Trail at the edge of the Eucalyptus trees. Within seconds there is a huge wall of flame burning up the slope. Fighting fire with fire. As soon as the backburn has consumed most of the fuel closest to us and moved up the slope a bit, the firemen move to the left and soon another huge expanse of fire is rushing up the slope. So they move on, wetting the ground close by that has already burned.
After a while we can see that everything is under control. Fantastic work by the firefighters. Apart from the local volunteers, there were men from the Overstrand municipality, Harold Porter Gardens, Cape Nature and Kirstenbosch (possibly other areas and groups too). They were so well organised, calm and efficient.
Saturday 6 June
12:40am
We decide to catch some shuteye. Cathy takes the first firewatch shift from 12:40am to 2:40am. I sleep in a duvet folded in half.
2:40am
I wake and relieve Cathy. There is a strong orange glow reflected on the walls of Disa kloof. There are a number of fires on Leopard’s kloof and to the left of us. To avoid falling asleep I walk out every 15 minutes or so and take a look at the fires. At about 4:30am some of the firefighters move back to the other side of the Gardens. One asks me if there is an open shop nearby. Unfortunately there aren’t any. He’s looking for cigarettes. For probably the first time since I gave up I wish I was a smoker so that I could give him mine.
4:40am
Mom relieves me and I decide to try to sleep some more. No problem. I manage to sleep until nearly 8am. We walk up the road with coffee in hand. There are some flames close to the road which worry us, but before we can get back to report it a fire tender passes us going up the road and attends to the flames.
12:30am
A fire tender drives up and douses the smoking ground at the edge of the Jeugkamp, site of last night’s spectacular (and home-saving) backburn.
Although the threat was not entirely over, the prognosis looked good so we unpacked all the cars and Cathy made a delicious late breakfast. Soon after midday I leave for Somerset West and a bath followed by some relaxing time around a contained fire.
Wow. Yes, there wasn’t much sleep going around Thursday, nor much attention to anything over the weekend. So glad a cold front has arrived!
Love and hugs
Tessa
Great px. I love the trapsoetjies ! Really good account of the fire and how it was fought.
Good analysis of the developing situatiion.
You’ll do !
Cheers, George.
Thanks Oom!
Glad you like the chameleon. He’s a beaut and not too annoyed at having a camera poked in his face. He was wandering along the top of our rickety fence in Somerset West.
Fascinating account. So it was still pretty dry? For this time of year i mean?
Not really all that dry, just so much old and dead fynbos lying about waiting for a flame. I would think it is pretty difficult to resist combusting after being struck by a charged-up bolt of lightning!
Someone explained that once the fire is burning there is an area about 100m in front that gets dried out by the heat of the advancing fire. This helps the fire’s advance as the dried out stuff burns well. Keeps the momentum going. I guess this is also one of the reasons the fire burns slower going downhill as this oven effect is not as effective then.
Thanks for your amazing record and photographs – If I think about all the people having their saturday braais not even knowing of the stress other people are enduring in neighbouring territory. I trust your parents are well after all the anxiety. Best Regards Christo
Fascinating account James, thanks for such a readable story. We just thought it was a bit of a flare up, now we know better! It just shows the experience and knowledge of the W Cape firefighters.
Regards, David
Dear James –
what a memorably stressful time for you all .
thank goodness it was alright in the end -your poor folks
what an awful experience for them .
well written James -10 out of 10 !
lots love Renee x x
Close Shave! Your account has woken me right up! Excellent photography and account of hairy scenario. How is the Oom and his Boss?
They’re fine now.
They were pretty exhausted for a few days after.
Subsequently there have been 28mils of rain so the fire is well and truly out and the air has that distinctive wet-burnt-fynbos smell. Also no more soot in the air.
Now thats the best bit of writing I have read in many a year. I felt I was there. Thank goodness Mem and Edward still have their home as well as Lewis. Great account although I bet you all wished that it didn’t have to be written in the first place.
Hi James
Just been reading your evocative description of the fire – must have been so worrying for all concerned and awful for all the little creatures living in it’s line. Your mama and pa sound highly organised – mind you I wouldn’t expect anything else from them!!
You must have inherited your grandfathers journalistic gift!
Go well and glad you are all fine and by now caught up on sleep.
Jill