Fire!
After a solid week of sunshine the locals here were very glad to see a day of rain. It is the rainy season but even so, rain is a scarce commodity and so necessary for sustainability here. Generally, one inch of rain a MONTH is considered good.
Sunday evening saw us sitting around the campfire in the Boma when the first spits of rain began to fall. Calling it an early evening we all turned in for a good night’s sleep. About 6:00 a.m. we awoke to thunder and lightening followed by a torrential downpour. Snuggled in my warm bed, I was quite content to stay there reading my book. It was a good day for a lazy morning.
Unbeknownst to me, things were not quite so quiet in other parts of the camp. It would seem that the almighty crack of thunder that I had heard which I had thought sounded immediately overhead, was indeed immediately overhead. The accompanying lightening strike had struck just in front of the cabins and had started a brush fire literally within the camp.
Fire is deeply respected in the Cederberg. Last summer, massive brush fires swept through one of the hearby mountain passes devouring hundreds of acres of growth. In nature, fire is a natural and necessary element which, despite its destructive powers does serve a useful and necessary purpose. This area is covered in “Fynbos” vegetation. Low bushes which grasp the mountainous terrain. Much like our Jack Pine and California’s Sequoia, the seeds of the Fynbos are very tightly encapsulated and require the heat of a fire to expand the gases within and break the seed pod open allowing for germination. In an uninhabited area, fire would not be so much of a problem but obviously where people and their livelihood are concerned, fire is a bad, bad thing. During the summer fires here many acres of land were lost as well as property and, sadly, one volunteer firefighter lost his life battling the blaze.
This time we were fortunate. The torrential downpour that immediately followed the lightening strike extinguished the flames quite quickly. It remains, however, a stark reminder of the harshness of this place and our vulnerabiliy here. We are miles from anywhere and miles from help. You survive by your wits and your abilities and you had better be sure you have both of them about you.
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Morag