Wilfdfire

A wildfire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, unwanted, uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation starting in rural areas and urban areas. wikipedia

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The other day, late afternoon I heard crackling sounds which was probably made by fire. I look out the window and saw fire above the clearings, it started to get bigger. The sound became more and more clear and unmistakable that my husband who was home already that time was forced to look out the window. The fire this time, at pass 5pm, had spread and would anytime reached the place by the roadside they're working at. He examined where the fire could have originated and told me it was from his mother's (adopted mother actually) kaingin.

My husband presumed that maybe it was his mother if in case she went there. So he went to his mother's house to check on her to make sure if she was not home then he would have to go and look for her in the clearing. It was actually where I had been gathering those corns before. It was just above the village but above it was the national highway where some houses were built, and one of them was where my husband is currently working.

When he came back, he told me it was really his mother. She looked tired and weary. She was already old and I told her countless times not to keep going in the fields because she's already old and may encounter misfortunes. But she won't listen. She gets bored in staying home and can't stand it that's why she keeps on going to the fields. And now this happened. She was trying to beat the fire to put it off but she can't. She even got her hair at her temple burnt. Good thing she just got home after being helpless. She said that the barangay captain's granddaughter had already called the Bureau of Fire Protection.

My mother-in-law said she burned the heap of dried grass she cleaned but was unaware that it could spread to the overgrown grasses just near her kaingin. She was not able to gather the dried grasses at a safer distance before she burned it. Thus, it reached the uncleared portion of the mountain.

It didn't rain for almost three weeks now. The weather is extremely hot and humid while the wind is blowing. These made the grasses dried and pine needles under the trees really dry that they catch fire immediately when sufficiently heated and spread like crazy.

The fire got really big that it scared the kids who were watching by the window. It was already dark and firefighters haven't arrived yet or maybe they're putting off the fire at other areas which is not visible in our place.

At 7pm, I heard a swishing sound. The sound of fire and embers being sprayed with water.. I looked out the window and saw flashlights coming from the road and firefighters extinguishing the fire with their huge hoses. I don't know but I didn't see if they came down where the fire was really huge. The fire continued to devour what it can especially one of the pine trees.

While I was typing my article that night, I didn't notice that the fire gradually died. At 10:21 pm, after I was done with my article for the following day to be published, I looked out the window and heaved a sigh of relief. The fire died down with just some of the embers still visible.

Once, I experienced also how to be scared because of fire. I only had my eldest back then when I decided to clear the patch of kaingin my grandmother used to plant crops when she was still alive. After I got it all done and it was all dried up, I went around and made fireline round the kaingin. I made it two meters from the boundary. There's this one area which I was not able to clean properly out or those pine needles and some dried leaves. I ignited one side and it burned the heaps of dried grasses, leaves and twigs in a fiery motion. I also put fire on the other side and it burned also those piles of grasses. However, the wind was blowing strongly and it blown the fire to the other side of the stone walled boundary. Adrenaline rushed in through my veins that I didn't care about the heat. It really scared me to death as the fire was already devouring the thick dried overgrown grasses on the other side. Tried as I might to beat it and eventually was able to put it off by continuously beating it with the leaves of a banana..

I felt my body was trembling especially my knees that I just sat down. I can feel my throat was parched and I felt the heat which I didn't mind earlier.

Whiiw that was close. I was scared that it might turn into a forest fire which would burn the whole mountain and might caused carabaos and cows scared and run to their death. The penalty was the least I worry about that time.

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Wildfire is caused by nature e.g lightning but mostly in our area it was caused accidentally by carelessness like the case above, campfires unattended and intentional acts. In our place they burn the mountains intentionally just to make new growths of grasses for carabaos and cows to graze upon.. Though penalty was imposed, it seems like it's not being adhered to..

Edit: The firefighters had responded immediately maybe at pass six in the evening according to a facebook post. However, reading at the comment section netizens were really harsh. One even said "melmelwam" which means abusing authority according to the situation or as one had been doing it all along without learning from the consequences.

Well, I'm not venting out but was just being rational. There was this wildfire which I think came first before the case above and was still burning as of this writing (05-20-21, 4pm) but wasn't posted on facebook. Smog was all over the place and it had covered the sun that the shade was different from the natural light of the sun. It had burned a large portion and not only one mountain. Burnt leaves were even flown and reached the houses.

One main reason why netizens were harsh on their comment was the fact that on the national road were some houses and even parked cars. Another thing was the planted fruit trees I think which some have the same comment about changing those that were planted.

Looking at the portion where the other bushfire was, it was also a place where most of the programs had planted trees. But the question was, why was it not posted on facebook? Was it not wildfire all the same? So that concerned person would receive comments like irresponsible, change planted fruit trees/pananim.

All I can say is let's all be responsible citizen. Not only in taking care of nature but in our tongue just the same. You might not know one day, you'd be the cause of trouble for the whole community accidentally. Another thing was the kind of treatment one receives from his fellows. If it was someone who is below the poverty line, everyone is being harsh. But, when it's someone who has a better standing in society then only a few can throw words.

True, it feels bad or lets say frustrating to see our mountains on fire but the fact that it was caused accidentally was different from those who are doing it intentionally.

Yes, because as I have said for a new growth of grasses for cows and carabaos on the mountains to graze.

05-21-21

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