And it ain’t half dry as well

So we have all been warned about the fire risk in the countryside. No fag ends out the car window - not only could you be toasting the countryside for kilometres around, you could end up losing points off your driving licence as well. No more barbies in the countryside - it could be more than the sausages that get burnt.

But still the fires come. And the other weekend, there we were, just about to tuck into Sunday lunch. We sat down, wondering what on earth the neighbours were going to have for lunch - the smoke was thick and smelt distinctly un-appetising. Then we heard the crackle, and looked up the valley. Our valley is only a small one, no more than a dozen houses. And just beyond the end of the valley, smoke and flames were leaping into the air. Time to leave the lunch, it’s time to see what is going on.

We don’t expect our house to burn down - but then, who does??? - but we have a Plan. A list of things which are to get into the car if it is a yellow alert. A shorter list if it is a red alert. And a very short list of things to do - turn off the gas container, decide if it needs throwing into to the swimming pool, and shut the windows. The smoke! It get’s everywhere.

But this didn’t reach as far as an alert situation. Although the fire was close, it wasn’t coming in our direction. And anyway, our lemon trees don’t burn. Bonfires that we have started have proved that. The fir trees lining up towards the house would go like the clappers, but hopefully, they aren’t that close. So no need to worry too much. But perhaps someone needs help.

Round on to the lane. I have heard the sirens, but I can’t tell who has gone where. 100 metres along the lane, I am stopped by the police. The road is closed, blocked by the bomberos. Good. Further along the lane, the fire must be stronger, because that is where I saw the smoke.

I pull over, and park up. There are already a few rubber-neckers, a mixture of Spanish and English. People living nearby, walking up the lane to see what the noise is about, what the danger is.

Behind me, a car pulls up. The driver has his head in his hands. Why? Is it perhaps his trees that are burning? Whilst I am trying to figure out what is upsetting him, the other doors of the car shoot open. An older Spanish woman, and what are probably her daughters, jump out. “Oh Dios Mio!”, she screams. “Mia casa, mia casa”. Her casa, her house, is nowhere near the flames, but is engulfed in smoke, caused by the helicopters water bombing the valley just below. She continues to scream, you would think that her entire family had perished, rather than just some more cleaning now being required. Her daughters hold her arms, to stop her collapsing on the floor. One of them comforts her. “Don’t worry, Mama, you have to expect this at this time of year”. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t help.

I see a commotion in one of the house nearby. The men have got a bucket chain going. I rush down, making sure that my exit route is quite secure. The fire is getting dangerously close to one of the houses, the grass and trees run right up to the back of the house. Two men stand in the pool, lifting buckets of swimming pool water, which we then throw over the fence. The heat radiated from the fire, and the sun. combine to make me wish that I had stayed up the hill with the gawkers. But slowly, we acheive some success, and the fire slows down. Someone has the bright idea of bringing up a pump to pump the water. This is hurriedly tied to the steps of the pool with a few bits of rope. “I’ll switch it on”, shouts one man. “No, wait till I get out of the water” comes the very sensible reply.

The pump works, and one man manages to do the work of all of us. I sit down with my feet in what is left of the pool water. By now the helocopters are above and around us. The fire engine, which has been working down the lane, dashes off with it’s klaxons blaring.

“Another fire?”

“No, they have run out of water, and are going back to the village for more”

Below me, I can see a JCB. The englishman who normally makes his living shuffling land around, creating terraces, and digging holes, has his machine running, and is clearing a fire break. But things are calming down now.

No-one hurt, and no property lost. This time. But the summer is a long way from over, and the rains are months away.