Suzanne Radford
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FOLLOW-UP
SUNDAY 12th AUGUST
From: Peter Weaver
Sent: 12 August 2018 11:47
Subject: The Monchique > Algarvean Fire
Good morning folks,
I hope you are all back in your houses or at least sorted for accommodation and starting to make things as normal as you can.
We have had a number of disasters all around us – some five houses either destroyed or uninhabitable without a major re-build. Spare a thought for their owners – can one start to imagine what traumas they must be going through? Our site has been remarkably fire-free save for the scorched lower terraces – this happened instantaneously as the eucalyptus wilderness below us, on/beyond our boundary exploded in a wall of searing heat and flame and found its way round us so quickly it was awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. There was no way to out–run or out-drive that firestorm. The “Fire reaches Villa Caprice” pictures I took over a matter of seconds, no more. I just kept pointing and pressing the shutter. It was getting a bit hot!
Suku and I are slowly recovering from “the shakes”, as the adrenaline high of the past few days drains away leaving exhaustion. I guess it will be the same for you. When you feel sufficiently “bounced back” we might think of a meal somewhere to share experiences – “war stories” – to me (unqualified except for many years of RAF “war simulations”) it felt like a war – with the fire - but no umpire to blow a whistle and say not good enough, do it again - with this fire, one had to get it right (enough ) first time!
I am now compiling a Lessons Learned Log – for my personal use in case over time my memory of this week fades.
Please come back with your pictures when you can or send a link to them.
For the record some useful references:
http://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/static/effis_current_situation/public/index.html
and fantastic pictures, thanks to Craig the professional who took them (please respect his copyright):
https://www.craigrogers.photography/?p=5297
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Phew!
That’s it; enough! A Sunday lunchtime gin is appearing on the horizon, with or without smokey lemon!
Kind regards and all the best for a speedy return to the new normal.
Peter Weaver
LATER THAT MONTH:
From: Peter Weaver <peter@monchique-portugal.eu>
Sent: 15 August 2018 20:24
Subject: Fwd: Re: Bombeiros & GIPS & co. - need help?
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That’s absolutely stunning; Commandant Rui of Monchique Bombeiros has taken the time to say "Thanks" (to my offer of help in the form of my 4x4, its trailer and me driving ) - I wonder how many hours sleep he has snatched this past 12 days.
It’s we who should be saying that to him and his team.
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On 27 Aug 2018, at 08:29, Peter Weaver
We have just had a lazy thunderstorm rumbling round - and our first RAIN for ages!
Big drops but not much wetting. Still it’s a start!
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AFTERMATH – 2019 Lessons Learned and the QRFiST!
As a result of the lessons learned from the fire one of the things I have done is design and assemble a Quick Reaction Fire Suppression Trailer (QRFiST) for our site - towable by quad bike or my little 4x4 – or even man handled along the flat tracks. The idea is to use this trailer to get my essential fire-fighting kit to the safest/nearest water tank to the scene of a fire. This is to suppress a small fire before the Bombeiros get here – or to fight the follow-on fires after a firestorm like that of August 2018 – it is NOT intended to use it to try to stop a firestorm (!) – that was unstoppable when it hit us, given its speed and ability to jump large barriers!
This trailer will go anywhere the quad bike can reach on our site and when parked near one of our 10, large capacity glass-fibre water tanks or next the main domestic water tanks, fish tank or the swimming pool it could pump water through up to 150 metres of “fire hose” thus reaching anywhere on the site, and beyond. This trailer has two pumps (one petrol-driven and one electric submersible), lots of hose pipes with quick connectors and other implements for tackling small ignitions (shovel, rakes and fire beater) plus first aid (burns) kit and smoke masks. That should reduce the need for running up hills with buckets of water just a bit, Although it is not road legal it is, of course, available to help neighbours to fight an isolated outbreak I somehow doubt there would be a GNR documents’ check on the way!
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If your site could do with one – design details can be downloaded from the link below:
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