Cyclical Inferno
This morning the sun rose with a reddish-pink tinge, even redder than yesterday's. There was a dark haze in the air and the distant hills were difficult to see. The smell of wood smoke hung in the air, slightly bitter, smelling of dead greenery. The fires that were raging a few kilometers away have left behind their reminders of all that was destroyed.
Exactly ten years ago, we had devastating forest fires all along the coast. For two weeks we couldn't see blue sky, and could feel the smoke in our throats. Thousands of people feared for their homes and livelihoods, and a few died. This August, someone thought it would be nice to repeat those trying times.
So, who sets these fires that threaten to swallow everything into their red, broiling maws and spit out black ash? A variety of people for a variety of reasons. There have been cases where a firefighter with a temporary contract has set one or two just to be hired and get paid. I think these are the least. There are pyromaniacs that just love to see things burn. Those aren't that many, either. Then there are monied interests. Either to buy wood cheaply, or to give another, more profitable use to the land. And then there are the twisted folk that will do anything against neighbors they simply hate. In Cerceda, A Coruña, yesterday, they caught a woman who set fifteen fires for just that reason. After those fifteen, unexplained fires, the Guardia Civil set up watches to see if they could catch whoever was lighting them. Yesterday, they saw a woman drive along a lane, stop, get out, lean over and set a lighted tea candle in the ditch. They stopped her and found more tea candles, lighters, and matches. Ironically, one of the lighters had "I (heart) Galicia" on it. Her reason for setting the fires was that she got along horribly with her neighbors, and wanted to get even for them for real or imagined slights. Unfortunately, there are too many like her. A couple of years ago, a man who had set fires around our village was caught. He had said he wanted to see our village burn. Only God knows why.
And then the regional government, the Xunta, swears they will make sure to help put out all the fires and punish those who set them. That has made many people laugh. As most say, the best extinction is prevention. What should be done, and isn't, anymore, is to clean the underbrush from the hills and forests. Once upon a time, that underbrush was used in stables for the cows, the donkeys, and other animals. People have stopped having farm animals because subsistence farming is on its way out. The most farm animals people have now are chickens, some rabbits, and maybe a pig. There is no need for the underbrush that used to be collected. So, it grows, until no one can pass through large sections of woods that used to be only populated with trees. And when the fire comes, it finds great fuel.
How can the government help to keep the woods clean? By funding research and development in the area of uses of bio mass. That underbrush could be used to fabricate pellets, now in demand for heating systems. Companies could be set up that would pay the owners of the woods for the underbrush growing in them. They could hire workers to cut the underbrush and transport it to the factories. The government could find ways like that to encourage private landowners to keep their parcels of land clean and therefore provide little fuel for fires. But no, it prefers to keep its fingers crossed that few fires will break out and then spend money only on firefighters, helicopters, and airplanes. To them it's cheaper to keep their heads in the sand and then say pretty words when their wishes don't come true. To those who face the loss of their homes or their livelihoods, or even their lives, those pretty words are like a thimbleful of water in an inferno. Their value is worthless.
Exactly ten years ago, we had devastating forest fires all along the coast. For two weeks we couldn't see blue sky, and could feel the smoke in our throats. Thousands of people feared for their homes and livelihoods, and a few died. This August, someone thought it would be nice to repeat those trying times.
So, who sets these fires that threaten to swallow everything into their red, broiling maws and spit out black ash? A variety of people for a variety of reasons. There have been cases where a firefighter with a temporary contract has set one or two just to be hired and get paid. I think these are the least. There are pyromaniacs that just love to see things burn. Those aren't that many, either. Then there are monied interests. Either to buy wood cheaply, or to give another, more profitable use to the land. And then there are the twisted folk that will do anything against neighbors they simply hate. In Cerceda, A Coruña, yesterday, they caught a woman who set fifteen fires for just that reason. After those fifteen, unexplained fires, the Guardia Civil set up watches to see if they could catch whoever was lighting them. Yesterday, they saw a woman drive along a lane, stop, get out, lean over and set a lighted tea candle in the ditch. They stopped her and found more tea candles, lighters, and matches. Ironically, one of the lighters had "I (heart) Galicia" on it. Her reason for setting the fires was that she got along horribly with her neighbors, and wanted to get even for them for real or imagined slights. Unfortunately, there are too many like her. A couple of years ago, a man who had set fires around our village was caught. He had said he wanted to see our village burn. Only God knows why.
And then the regional government, the Xunta, swears they will make sure to help put out all the fires and punish those who set them. That has made many people laugh. As most say, the best extinction is prevention. What should be done, and isn't, anymore, is to clean the underbrush from the hills and forests. Once upon a time, that underbrush was used in stables for the cows, the donkeys, and other animals. People have stopped having farm animals because subsistence farming is on its way out. The most farm animals people have now are chickens, some rabbits, and maybe a pig. There is no need for the underbrush that used to be collected. So, it grows, until no one can pass through large sections of woods that used to be only populated with trees. And when the fire comes, it finds great fuel.
How can the government help to keep the woods clean? By funding research and development in the area of uses of bio mass. That underbrush could be used to fabricate pellets, now in demand for heating systems. Companies could be set up that would pay the owners of the woods for the underbrush growing in them. They could hire workers to cut the underbrush and transport it to the factories. The government could find ways like that to encourage private landowners to keep their parcels of land clean and therefore provide little fuel for fires. But no, it prefers to keep its fingers crossed that few fires will break out and then spend money only on firefighters, helicopters, and airplanes. To them it's cheaper to keep their heads in the sand and then say pretty words when their wishes don't come true. To those who face the loss of their homes or their livelihoods, or even their lives, those pretty words are like a thimbleful of water in an inferno. Their value is worthless.
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