Suzanne Radford
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TUESDAY EARLY MORNING
From: Peter Weaver
Date: 07/08/2018 07:28 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Monchique Fire Peter's Personal SITREP started at 4:30 am Tuesday morning
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No jocularity this time - it looks v bad -from my viewpoint on Picota looking to our West. (Foia / Monchique direction). Someone else getting hit this morning/ overnight.
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Bear in mind when you see news reports (sensationalising) and official announcements (the opposite - but usually factually much more use IMHO) that others might tell you differently - they have a different viewpoint.
I have just returned from the 4:30 water bucket patrol - amazingly, considering the strong but crucially, the cooler wind blowing down from the North there were no fires on our site needing significant intervention. Smouldering tree stumps get the once-over with a bucket's worth then on to the next one - they are bug×××s to fully extinguish ( thanks for your recent advice on that, Val C. of Firewise) They can burn / smoulder for days, despite loads of water - so I have been advised - and they are a serious source of sparks ready to ignite what’s downwind.
The reason for this Special SITREP is to report what I first heard from inside the house then saw when looking for the source of the distant roaring.
FOIA & MONCHIQUE
Some maybe 8 to 10 Km away to our West I can see that there are at least two fires burning. The most extensive and to me, worrying, is that fire burning on the eastern ( and what looks like from here) the southern slope of Foia. The colour of the fire is an intense and angry bright red, fuelled by what, for the first time in three days, is a strong wind from the North. At our place it’s about 15 to 20 mph. I can tell it is strong on Foia because instead of rising vertically the smoke is being blown horizontally to the South at high speed. There is a ribbon of red running right to left (North to South ) for what looked like 1,5 Km possibly more, with the dark smoke silhouetted against the clear night sky as a scarf blows in an open-top sports car -horizontally.
At 4pm I could see no signs of fire lower-down in Monchique itself. That does not mean there were none there - I could only see what I took to be the still twinkling lights of the town (as well as the blue lights of course).
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This situation must be very worrying for the firefighters and those living (hopefully evacuated by now) downwind of the major fire on Foia. The sparks / tree ash etc. will carry much further in the strong wind and the fire is receiving much more oxygen per second from this strong wind.
My hope is that the wind, being colder (outside 4am. temp here had plummeted to just 18 degrees C -much cooler than previous nights), will not add to the heat energy in the ground as did the previous 35 degree daytime temps with light winds that would change direction a number of times a day.
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MONTINHO (above Caldas de Monchique)
I have heard from three sources but cannot see it for myself that PARTS of the community of Montinho (above Caldas de Monchique ) were seen in flames yesterday afternoon/early evening.
One input came from a good friend and resident there, who left as flames were perilously close to his own property. He reported a big response from the Bombeiros at the time. Good luck, (names removed) and all on Montinho - including emergency services - we hope all turns out well.
Minor local news:
The two fires burning much nearer to us are no longer visible. Great relief!
At the time we first saw these fires yesterday afternoon the wind was much weaker and slowly blowing the one fire coming our way into previously-burned land (just below us) and so it had already been cleared of most of the really inflammable stuff. This fire was far less intense, less noisy and much, much slower than the one that had enveloped our site the day before (far less worrying too!)
I can see that bare earth and rocks beneath the charred stumps of eucalyptus trees don't support an intense fire -most of the high calorific value fuel (un-cleared cistus bushes, brambles and dried grasses ) had been consumed the first time. We had removed all of those from our site over the years we have been here (but left the odd tree stump as a feature and snake nursery - bad move!) so now I am are dealing with 'just' the slow-burning tree stumps and peat-like earth with many decades of compacted grass and leaf mould - brilliant for plant-growing but not for fire-suppression.
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I spent over an hour with a syphoning hose pipe coming out and (of course) down from the swimming pool last evening as the light was fading, wetting down a series of creeping 'peat-fires' that were slowly moving up the wide gully towards the pool itself with its wooden decking, our house, garage and submerged gas tank. I will see at first light if these have crept any further. In darkness there was no tell-tale glow nor heat coming from those patches but I think they are only quiescent and not yet fully extinguished. We shall see. Oh yes, in case you are concerned for our personal hygiene standards... there was still plenty enough 32 degree water left in the pool for this morning's skinny dipping/ bath.
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Our Emergency Water Supply (EWS) aka the swimming pool- note the burned tree-stump bottom-right, extinguished thanks to the use of EWS water – if we had not been here then it would have ignited that part of our hillside
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Just so you are aware and to explain my not mentioning them before now, Suku, my immediate neighbour and I have not seen any firefighters on our part of Picota since the fire started; however, we have heard many sirens down below us in the valley. Our location has received a single visit from a water-bucket helicopter which dropped its load on a house 100mtrs below us just after the firestorm - that house is now derelict as its roof has caved in – probably caused by the fire and not the water, I hasten to add!
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This is NOT a criticism at all - just a report of the realities of living in a remote area in a time of crisis. We have felt entirely alone to do what we could for ourselves and our neighbours (offering relatively safe car-parking for one thing). We have no mains water in normal times so have to rely on what comes out of our hill and that which is stored in tanks and the, now essential, swimming pool.
A very brave GNR (deleted) on motorcycle braved the fire to try to get us to evacuate but we had already committed to stay and fight so thankfully he accepted that and departed as the fire reached our boundaries. I sincerely hope he made it back without injury or worse. Since then I have seen two GNR patrols driving up our road at different times, that’s it.
If I were in charge of firefighting I too would give priority to saving towns, villages and clusters of communities together with essential communications links like the main roads and to supporting the evacuation of the remoter parts. This fire has been a perfect firestorm of heat combined with wildly variable winds and a few other things.
For the debrief... and future ...lest I forget what it feels like here on our hill watching and hearing Foia burn, People who live in remote areas must either get out early or be prepared both physically and mentally for what they could face. Staying behind is not an option for the faint-hearted or physically unfit. Faced with the scale of catastrophe that we are experiencing right now, we have ourselves, a few remaining neighbours and what we have already prepared - to enable us to fight fires, do first aid and stay comfortable (eat, drink and keep clean) For the record I tried phoning 112 for help for a friend whose house was next to a neighbour's burning trees - if I remember right a couple of days ago now, but no answer first time and engaged the second time. Gave up, had to drop the phone to stop a fire spreading on our site. Waiting for the emergency services is not an option at this time. That’s the reality, we have to understand and get on with it. Anyone buying a property in such an idyllic setting ( well it was) as ours should be under no illusion. This is not the centre of a big town.
Example -last night our (lady neighbour) came round looking very shaken and asked if she could leave her car at our site (= Safe Haven) as their car port had burned down. Their house, up to now has been OK but we have offered them a refuge here just in case.
That’s it from me , I will try to keep these unofficial sitreps coming but we may lose comms to the Foia Wi-Fi mast at any time - we just don’t know.
Please keep up to date with the official viewpoint. I found yesterday’s official SITREPS from SCP (mentioned previously ) translating the Civil Protection information really helpful -thank you David!
I can’t say how appropriate and timely last month's Firewise training has been - so thank you Val C and Tessa (they were copied-in on this e-mail thread at their base in South Africa, hence the mention)
Stay safe everyone our thoughts are with you especially the folk who have evacuated already and those on Foia and Montinho - hope it’s working out safe for you.
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Apols for typos - In a rush - dawn now, helos and other aircraft seen/ heard on their way to Foia folks! Hope it’s not just the press rubbernecking. -must get out on patrol again.
Peter
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TUESDAY MORNING
Sent: 07 August 2018 08:23
Subject: Monchique Fire Peter's Personal SITREP for 0800 Daylight, Tuesday morning
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Outbreak of Optimism!
Its daylight and how things have changed!.
At dawn a veritable aerial armada clattered, droned and buzzed all about us.
Has someone, somewhere, pressed a very large red button ? War has been declared -on the fires.
At long last, instead of choking smoke, the sky is filled with some real clouds and the sound of maximum possible effort! Most importantly, joining all sorts of water-carrying flying machines optimism is in the air, as well!
Contrary to what you might be thinking, that’s not intended as an adverse comment on the Civil Protection response. I suspect it’s as simple(?) as a major change in weather.
The cooling wind from the north has brought with it medium to low height clouds - and cleared away the low-lying, choking smoke with hardly any visibility - so dangerous and limiting to aerial support. Thankfully this real, wet cloud is not low enough to stop the aviators from their frenzied bombing of places to the west of us (Monchique and Foia my guess) but I can't tell as our trees remain standing and still have leaves on them! Leaves with a slight layer of dew on them as well - B. Marvellous!
The firefighters now might stand a better chance.
In daylight with binoculars I see from the blackened areas that fires have tracked from low on the western foothill slopes of Foia and even lower, from my right (the North) heading Southwards towards town at least threatening if not entering the outskirts of Monchique and maybe the town itself. I just can't see. The helos are active over what seems to be the southern part of town (BP petrol station & Meia Viana way?) but that’s a guess.
What is clear is the amount of water that must be deposited in that area as I type.
We have just received a report from about 1km south of the wind turbines watchtower area of Foia that they are clear of fire at present.
Later…
What a glorious sight and sound. - to the north of us have just flown in lose formation three twin-engined water-bombers hopefully going to gulp up more water to return shortly.
That’s all for now; let’s hope this revitalised effort can crack the worst of it-
Good luck all.
Peter
TUESDAY EVENING
Date: 07/08/2018 18:46 (GMT+00:00)
(Started mid-day ish but sent later)
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It’s going to be a long old haul out of this!
I have recently returned from a recce with our nearest neighbour in Edgar my diminutive, battered, but highly useful off-road 4x4 yes I know I am an evil polluter of the landscape in my petrol-engined Mitsubishi Pinin but now I don't expect any ramblers to care that much!
We went on-road to the southeast of our site -a direction in which I did not expect to be stopped by the GNR and told not return home (as happened trying to return from Monchique on Monday). This route has a few remote houses in small clusters or on individual plots.
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Tuesday’s Post Apocalypse recce (the other “escape route”)
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It’s like a post-apocalyptic wasteland out there -no sign of people, some houses destroyed, one car way off in the distance and a CME (utilities contractor? – more of them later) pick-up truck on the move. One can see so much more now that the eucalyptus forests have been thinned out to tree stumps or, very worryingly, only partially burned/scorched trees (see pic above!) now ripe for re-ignition at the slightest opportunity. I have been snapping away with my camera but need time, power and a good broadband link to get them out to you, so please bear with my written description for now at least.
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For the scene in our remote, rural location just look at a WW1 postcard from 1916 - that should give you the idea -though delete the shell craters, and insert blackened rock mounds. Mercifully are there are no body-parts to be seen - though seriously, I do fear for people who "live(ed) below the radar", decided to stay put or failed to get out of what could be a wooden-framed self-build structure or caravan. How many will be discovered in a terminally sorry state in weeks to come, especially if they had not prepared their land for the frighteningly fast, raging conflagration that swept all round our property some days ago?
One can easily lose track of days here - I measure time in patrol units = about every hour, day and night till I am happy enough to grab a nap - again, day or night it makes no odds. Suku (aka the stalwart Mrs W, for those who don't know) and I would far rather be doing this than have been forcibly evacuated, first to Monchique then on to Portimão -when Monchique was threatened some twenty patrol units ago. And what about our two dogs; where would they be now? As it is they could not be happier now, plenty more walks (on patrol with me) and, as the big freezer has been slowly defrosting (small generator could not cope) last night they had some left-over stir-fried duck followed by mildly runny, slightly chilled ice-cream. Are they happy chaps!
To the east and south east of us - that is beyond Alferce and towards Silves, as far as one could see the fire had raced through and there were smoke plumes on the horizon in both of those directions.
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More seriously we heard an hour ago that, last night, Monchique had a few houses burned and some cars incinerated on its north/east side (Bica Boa way). For the correct numbers etc. watch the official SITREPs from SCP, I know no more.
The scene to our west - towards Monchique is mixed. Some (many) parts of Foia's slopes have been burned as well as the valley bottom leading into the town from the north east. Through binoculars it seemed that the firefighters and support team(s) had managed to save most of the houses next the burned area. They are doing a magnificent job against a truly cunning, evil adversary!
When we could see in that general direction there was a large smoke plume rising from beyond and south of Monchique towards Casais but not necessarily anywhere near the town itself. Distance to the smoke source was difficult to judge - it could have been much closer to Monchique
BREAK
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Sorry for the interlude -it’s now 18:30 and I have been dealing with two emergencies - our little Honda generator developed fuel starvation ( no fuel in pipes plenty in tank – fuel tap on- any ideas?) Fuel new and properly filtered. Will check when I have the time. Anyway it was really struggling with the load we were asking it to cope with. That problem now bypassed.
The other issue - drinking water to the house has slowed to a feeble “5 mins for a litre” trickle -more serious but temporary fix achieved for next 24 patrol units (PUs)- more of that in next instalment in a few PUs time - under the title " McGuiver tries 'It’s a Knockout " (McGuiver? -youngsters just ask an oldie).
Keep safe you all!
Peter
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LATER TUESDAY EVENING
P S patrol report, pre-skinny-dip supplement :
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Optimism quotient now higher still Staggering, actually - a gang of CME chaps ( yes - all male) have appeared. (They are the folk who drive around with the picture of a bee on the side of their trucks –and I thought they were nature conservation police or something!) These folk have replaced a cooked transformer just along the road from our gates and now our two street lights are working. So soon and in this remote place! Words fail me (nothing new there, then!) I am truly staggered as much as the CME guys were when my neighbour and I appeared walking down the road out of the ashes to say a hearty " thanks"! I hope EDP soon follow by reconnecting us - especially as petrol for Genny 2 will run-out some time tomorrow.
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What a truly welcome sight – the CME “Linesmen” who restored mains electricity along the road past our house on Tuesday evening – I thought it would take weeks!
Another lesson: if you ever wish to go out with one, Russian weight-lifters drink a lot more and consume it quicker than Geishas... (The Honda used much less fuel than Genny 2 !)
All the best.,. Peter ( now good morning)
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