Suzanne Radford
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WEDNESDAY
From: Peter Weaver <peter@monchique-portugal.eu>
Sent: 08 August 2018 00:20
Subject: The Algarvian Fire - Peter's Personal SITREP for 2000 hrs, Tuesday, (sent Wednesday)-I think.
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Well done, you spotted the altered title. It’s no longer Monchique - as you should have read on the official SCP SITREP that offers the validated facts.
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My excuse this evening for any typos that you have come to know and become extremely irritated by is that my eyes are smarting from the clods of smooke (Allo Allo!) enveloping....not the valley, not even the house but from our gas barbecue nearly burning the food! I was in fear of a well-intended dump from a passing helo but they had more pressing targets - far too many judging by the skyline I have just surveyed.
There is a line of fire on Upper Foia - now stretching from the north towards the south across and just below what we can see of the crown ( round top) of Foia. A horizontal plume of brown smoke heads south with the fire below it. I can't see the very top of the mountain so it may not have reached the peak. Has the tourist facility at the top of Foia already burned? -I just can’t say except that, if nothing else I won't be heading there for a better view tomorrow! Somewhere there is a Vodafone Wi-Fi mast to which I have been able to connect in between the odd PUs. – so far so good but for how long if it really the one on Foia –I could be connecting to the Alferce mast, of course.
To our North there were some small lines of smoke indicating ongoing fires there but no actual flames visible - that’s nothing new. When the smoke in and above our valley has cleared we have seen a few of these localised smoke trails which have remained beyond Ridge 1, thankfully.
Our valley was shrouded in smoke again this afternoon as the wind changed direction to come a bit more from the west but it has swung back clockwise (veered) to come from the North once more, so clearing our valley of that low-visibility, grey murk.
At this time -now 2200 hrs (no, even I am not that slow a typist - there have been diversions ) the wind is from the north (ish) and delightfully cooling at 21 degrees on our outside plastic thermometer – mounted on the wall of the house and which has curled in the heat from the fire - but has not yet broken the thin (surely not glass?) Instrument held within. That just about sums us up! - a bit curled round the edges but definitely not broken!
We heard from a friend and ex-neighbour now living in the UK that he had recently spoken to his uncle living just north of the Silves to Rasmalho road. There was then thick smoke approaching their estate and heavy water-bomber activity visible just to the North of them, indicating that the fire was not far behind. Fingers crossed for them, tonight I expect it’s now too dark for these fixed-wing aircraft to operate at such low level.
On a completely different note .. life as we are experiencing it....
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Tonight's menu from the de-frosting freezer: lamb chops, cheese and creamy potato gratins with 'fresh-frozen home-grown green beans, mint jelly. All washed down by a couple of glasses of, probably 2017 sparkling Chateau Intermarche .... water.
Absolutely delicious! Would we have received the same fare if evacuated to the Portimão Arena?- Quite possibly, I really have no idea. So, have any of you out there experienced the Arena cuisine?... - all of you are still OK aren't you ?
XXXX, living above the Nave to Casais road - last heard of this morning saying the flames were about to hit your house and it was time to start the sprinkler system -please let us know that you are safe - when you can. We are v. concerned for you. We appreciate that you might be fine but merely with comms out, so we hope all's well - you had prepared your site, so really deserve to come out of this unscathed. (and thankfully, she did, too!)
Today it appears that the main fires moved significantly away from us to the south, the east and west with minor ones burning some way off to the north of us. .. and then the strong wind changed direction (yet again) bringing with it smoke and flakes of ash and a feeling of "brace, brace brace, here we go again" but this wind was, thankfully, cooler than before (= not so much of an ignition risk) and veered away later.
Some learning can be indelibly etched on your memory while other lessons leave their mark elsewhere like on one's skin! I have learned soon to tell when to be worried - as the hot ash flakes burn when they briefly ouch your skin, or worse, your clothes.- then I don’t notice them till the shirt is smouldering - so don.t wear synthetic clothes in an ash storm (no more tights for me then) and keep wetting your shirt, hat and trousers (that's pants for my American/ Canadian friends) but try to do so from the outside -of the garment, if you get my meaning!
OK in one of my recent rambling SITREPs I teased with McGuiver tries "It’s a Knockout" - The little 2KW generator was struggling with the load and showed its disgust like a recalcitrant donkey by refusing to go on. No amount of carrot would get it to start. Even the spark of life had gone out of it and it was so thirsty (fuel starvation) There is just no time to get help to diagnose, hunt a new spark plug, coil? etc. and get it fixed - try to take it to a workshop -not in Monchique - nothing open (allegedly). Anyway, I'm not going there again, for a while, only to be prevented from returning by a GNR roadblock.
Chance had it that as I was speaking to my near neighbour she mentioned that her husband was in Portimão that moment buying two generators.
I am now sitting in the lounge typing this listening to the grunts groans and purring of our recent purchase - Genny 2 - a veritable Russian Weightlifter in comparison to Geisha-petite but much less grunty Genny 1 aka the 2KW Honda. When fixed, Genny 1 will be assigned to run the water pump in the remote pump house up the site - demanding less than her 2KW.. here's hoping for -perfect harmony.
Fyi folks, Genny 2 was likely to have been the last one out of Portimão and, being second-hand (no new ones left anyway) a really good deal (so far). I will not go into detail about my neighbour's convoluted route back from Portimão to avoid being turned back by the GNR or worse, looking shifty, carrying three generators plus enough cans of fuel .... - suffice to say he saw a lot of the Algarve, used a lot more diesel, time and effort to get home without being stopped. Thank you so much Mr XXXXXX our freezer is freezing, chargers are charging and the fridge is ... cold again Things are slowly looking up - a bit more.
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This gent has waterworks trouble!
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This afternoon the C.O. aka Suku, aka Mrs W mentioned in passing that there wasn't much water coming out of the house (drinking water and everything else ) tap. Horror! In fact, when I checked it was more like a small rodent providing a urine sample (beware Weil's disease btw, if you ever try) That could become a show-stopper if not fixed, and quickly.
The water normally would be sucked up out of the enclosed tank and pumped down a slight drop to the house. No electricity = no pump = water flow reduced but still viable thanks to syphoning effect. Something to do with the syphoning was no longer working, most likely -air in the pipe? should not be a clogged filter as the water tank is enclosed, no time to investigate now as daylight reducing by the minute.
So fake McGuiver hat on, wetted of course, against ash-flake syndrome. -Three solutions possible from the odds and sods (am I allowed to write that nowadays? It’s maybe OK in Portugal) and other equipment to hand. The selected and quickest solution: Take quad bike and trailer loaded with every empty water container plus buckets for fire extinguishing down to the guest cottage where water flows by gravity, it being much lower than the main house and so, also, lower than the water tank.
The "It's a Knockout" bit emerges when trying to race back with buckets of water, watering cans and closed bottles without spilling them for three return trips against the clock (lamb chops etc. need cooking - and well-done, too.)
Sorted., we have enough water for more than the next 24 PUs. That reminds me time for a PU now followed by what will be a midnight dip in the still-warm / hot pool – luxury!.
I'm off- g'night all and hope you are already sleeping safely. Please spare a thought for those many people who are not, or at the least not in their own homes.
WEDNESDAY EARLY MORNING
On 8 Aug 2018, at 04:46, Peter Weaver wrote:
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Ah, brisk, fresh air, smell of smoke almost gone and lovely, cooling, breathable air -delightful, as is the sight of a mostly clear starlit night sky some street lights working on even some minor roads beneath us now.
So, come on EDP let’s get reconnected - can you do that remotely or do you have to inspect every property first? Ours is OK from your meter box and throughout the house.
Strong wind from just West of North by the look of the smoke coming off Foia.
Wind strength & direction not known here (-locally on Picota) being slowed and swirled by our trees. Despite the wind, no signs of glowing around site - have all the tree stumps extinguished or burned-out? Somehow I doubt it.
Some smoke seen rising many Kms way off to the N.W - really quite far away.
No, longer any sign of smoke from near Ridge 1 - that’s above you (name) - looks the clearest we have seen it since the start of this debacle.
The previous line of fire horizontally above Monchique now reduced to much smaller individual fires less intense. Very encouraging!
Still quite a bit of smoke from Foia, though.
One source of smoke round the mountain on its North facing slope - no fire visible.
That’s all for now tablet battery low, Genny 2 now out of fuel. Oh yes just what we needed! – an overnight software update that has drained the battery ... Noooo!
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That’s it, shutting down, Will use spare car battery for power to charge phone, tablet and Wi-Fi dongle + support from small, portable solar panel in daylight (!) now sky has cleared.
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Bye folks
Peter
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WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
Sent: 08 August 2018 4:02 PM
Subject: Re: Monchique Fire Peter's Personal SITREP for Daylight,
It has all kicked off again. This afternoon we were under a threat from a big fire front which has turned south- east towards the North / East of Silves now, but that could all change any time now.
We can only watch and wait.
PW
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