OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from
the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of
control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting
several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant
Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town
fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was
brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire
under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but
fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in
Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the
air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take
photos but you can find some on the internet if you look.
Alan C
On Sep 16, 2023, at 10:28 PM, Alan C cole@lantic.net wrote:
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life.
I'm glad that it wasn't much worse, and I expect that had your house been one of the 12 you would have mentioned, so I'm glad you are OK.
By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look.
Speaking as someone whose home town was ravaged by fire just over three years ago, there's a difference between ghoulish and documenting for posterity, and it is important to keep that in mind.
--
Larry Colen
lrc@red4est.com. sent from Mirkwood
That must have been a frightening experience.
And it is not yet summer in your area. I guess you get more rain in summer?
Henk
Op zo 17 sep 2023 om 07:40 schreef Alan C cole@lantic.net:
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from
the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of
control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting
several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant
Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town
fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was
brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire
under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but
fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in
Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the
air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take
photos but you can find some on the internet if you look.
Alan C
Alan - glad to hear, at least ,your home was not a victim.. I wager
there is not a US or Canadian list member who has not recently been
subject to
dangerously high pollution due to smoke from fires .. some of us much
more than others ..and have a good sense of what you personally are
experiencing.
don't take deep breaths to keep calm and carry on
ann
On 9/17/2023 1:28 AM, Alan C wrote:
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds
from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly
got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary &
setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic
Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from
the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting
helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to
bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed &
others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the
worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much
cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would
be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if
you look.
Alan C
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Larry makes a good point.. and he is one who I was thinking of
particularly when I made my comments.
ann
On 9/17/2023 1:54 AM, Larry Colen wrote:
By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look.
Speaking as someone whose home town was ravaged by fire just over three years ago, there's a difference between ghoulish and documenting for posterity, and it is important to keep that in mind.
--
Larry Colen
lrc@red4est.com. sent from Mirkwood
--
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It’s been a bad few years for a lot of people, I’m sorry to hear it’s been your turn. I hope you’re not too badly affected personally by it.
I agree with Larry’s comment about ghoulishness.
Bon courage.
On 17 Sep 2023, at 07:31, Alan C cole@lantic.net wrote:
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look.
Alan C
I'm glad you're ok and that no one died from the fire.
On 9/17/2023 1:28 AM, Alan C wrote:
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from
the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of
control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting
several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant
Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town
fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was
brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire
under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but
fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in
Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the
air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take
photos but you can find some on the internet if you look.
Alan C
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Thanks Ann.
The community is assisting wherever needed but there are a lot of political
undertones too. The Muni is claiming they did all sorts of things
whereas in fact they did very little. None of the Fire Engines were working
so the Mine fire teams had to be called in. The delay was IMO the main
cause of the extensive losses. Also, the water reservoir was depleted so
water pressure & flow from the hydrants was very low. Sadly, this is how
South Africa is land wide today.
Alan C
On Wed, Sep 20, 2023 at 3:16 PM ann sanfedele annsan@nyc.rr.com wrote:
Alan - glad to hear, at least ,your home was not a victim.. I wager
there is not a US or Canadian list member who has not recently been
subject to
dangerously high pollution due to smoke from fires .. some of us much
more than others ..and have a good sense of what you personally are
experiencing.
don't take deep breaths to keep calm and carry on
ann
On 9/17/2023 1:28 AM, Alan C wrote:
Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds
from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly
got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary &
setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic
Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from
the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting
helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to
bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed &
others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the
worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much
cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would
be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if
you look.
Alan C
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