Fire and (Missing) Ice
Ever since last week, we have had rain, wind, and warm temperatures in our corner. The rest of northern Spain has had wind and out-of-season temperatures. And so, there have been forest fires. Normally, in northern Spain there aren't many wildfires; Galicia is the exception. Other regions along the Bay of Biscay tend to administer better their forests and mountains, keeping them cleaner, cutting, and replanting. Therefore wildfires are unusual. But this is an unusual fall and winter. By now the first snowfall in the mountains would have fallen. Ski resorts would have opened and down by the sea the grey fogs would have kept everything green and wet. No one could have lit a serious fire, whether by praying to God or to Vulcan. But not this year. Farmers tend to clean off pastures and fields in the winter. Everything they cut or prune they stack together and set fire to around this time of year to slowly smoulder and gradually burn down. But this year some of these fires ha...