Winter in Paraguay is the dry season, a time of year when the grass dry or if there has been frost, die back leaving just straw behind. All this turns the ground to a tinderbox in grave danger from fire.
So it was for me a couple of winters back.
I returned home after doing my business in town to be confronted with the alarming sight of a garden on fire. I quickly rushed back to the house, changed into old clothes and then headed out to find the cause and see what was being done about it.
It was clear that the fire had been burning for sometime and was well established. It was burning about ten metres within my boundries on a front at least one hundred metres across. Already I could see a large blackened area of land beyond my fence where the flames had already passed turning everything to ash.
It did not take long to locate the culprit for he was standing to the side of the flames looking resigned to watching everything burn. He was the groundkeeper of the neighbouring property and had with his own hands set the countyside alight.
What it transpired had happened was that he had decided to clear a little patch of ground to plant a few crops. Nothing wrong with burning off dead grass for planting. However, in this case no fire breaks had been cut and he had thought that alone he could stop the fire from escaping. There also happened to be a strong wind blowing so the result with inevitable.
The fire had by the time I discovered it long ago passed the point where without proper firefighting equipment, of which there was none, it would have to be let to run it’s course.
Despite knowing this I did for a while try to beat back the flames. All I got though as I pushed back little bits of fire, only to have the flames circle round behind me was blackened with soot and lungs full of smoke.
It was a lost cause and I was forced to retreat to the house. The house I knew was not in danger as I keep a wide ring of clear ground around it to discourage snakes and other such creatures. However the same could not be said for all the trees and plants I had growing and the acres of grass that surrounded the house.
I set about saving the trees nearest the house by watering around them. This did save the trees although all was damaged and the orange gave no fruit the following year. Futher out where I could no go the flames lept up the trunks of palm trees and anything else they passed.
Once I had done all I could I was left to watch the flames and smoke slowly approach. The fire did not move quickly but everything in it’s path was reduced to ash.
Fire came closer and closer to the house until eventualy I was encircled with nothing but smoke and orange flames to see in every direction. Being now trapped I was glad for the patch of clear ground around me.
The flames burnt all there was to burn as they continued down towards the road. It was several hours before me garden stopped burning and even after that fallen logs continued to smoke and burn for the rest of the day.
Mine was not the only property to be reduced to ash. Blown by the wind the fire had initially run up my neighbours grounds, burning off all the grass his cattle needed, over the crest of a hill and down to a river bank a couple of miles away. My other neighbour was also burnt out but where as I had grass he had an orchard of citrus fruits, all of which lost their fruits.
Once the fire had finally run out of fuel and gone out several square miles of once green countryside had been reduced to ash.
My garden was left looking bleak and barren. Apart from plants I had saved around the house nothing green was left. In all directions there lay a black, dusty lunar landscape. Not one blade of grass remained.
For many days afterwards the air smelt of ash and smoke. Winds slowly blew this ash away leaving behind bare lifeless soil.
When the rains came fresh grass soon rose from the ashes but small plants vanished and although few trees did not put on new leaves several died over the coming months from the damage they had recieved.
The land has now recovered and next door there is a new groundkeeper, but when winter returns so will the risk of fire.
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