Fire damage

When I arrived at G's this morning I was greeted by this sight. One of the big garden beds which she and I have been creating alongside their drive went up in flames on Sunday night during one of the recent gales.

B, her husband, had lit an incinerator about 50m away earlier in the day when it was calm. Despite it being hosed down for more than half an hour when it had burnt right down, it still managed to flare up again after dark in the high winds and sent embers over to this garden bed, and further across the drive  to a big herbaceous bed right next to the house. 

We use peastraw as weed suppressant and mulch. Unfortunately it is highly flammable when the wind dries it out, as happened last week. Here you can see a new bale which G proposes to use on the bed once we start resurrecting it in a couple of weeks' time.

Fortunately the fire was spotted quickly and using a combination of irrigation and garden hoses G and B got it under control just as the firefighters arrived. They than spent two hours dealing with hotspots.

At the offset G had bundled their three children into the car and taken them to her in-laws for the rest of the night, then she returned to help fight the flames until the firies arrived.

This was a huge deal for G and B, because five years ago a mature pine shelter belt just 20m from their house went up in flames. They had to evacuate instantly and it was only thanks to the fortunate presence and actions of an off duty firefighter and a helicopter pilot that their house was saved. 

When I talked to G about it this morning the panic and fear were alive in her face and her body language. Trauma leaves its mark.