h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yesterday evening at about ten o' clock we were all three together in my mom and dad's bedroom, when I heard a strange rustling/crackling sound apparently coming from outside! My dad got up and looked out the window and announced that a tree was on fire! My mom and I rushed up and looked and there was a huge palm tree in flames! This palm tree stands in the yard of the neighbours just across the street ... the house belongs to a local church and the preacher and his family who lived there had just moved out so now the house is abandoned.

This palm tree stands about ten metres tall and was entirely in flames from bottom right to the top! It was burning like a torch, engulfed in bright flames, crackling loudly and spewing forth burning bits of leaves, glowing embers, ash and soot all over the neighbourhood! Burning bits of vegetation descended on our house and yard and other surroundings! The ferocity of the fire created an updraft that carried this burning debris far and wide!

Of course we wondered how the tree had caught fire. These palm trees have trunks that are largely dead, dry material, and lots of dry leaves covering the trunk as well, so there's much dry fuel on it. It was burning as if someone had poured gasoline all over it! We speculated that 'naughty kids' might have done it. If they did they were very naughty indeed ... this was in effect an act of arson.

I said we should call the fire department since the burning tree was a major fire hazard for the neighbourhood. We looked for a while before getting the firefolks' number, and then my dad spoke to someone who didn't seem to understand much of what he said. At any rate a fire engine arrived at about twenty to eleven ... when the tree had already burnt out, mostly.

The burning process went surprisingly rapidly. Within ten minutes almost all the dry leaves were consumed. But the trunk was still glowing red and still burned brightly in a few places. I was sure that there was still a lot of burning going on deep inside the trunk since a palm tree's trunk is mainly dead, dry fibres. My concern was that the tree might fall down scattering hot coals far and wide. At ten metres tall and standing just across the road from us - the road being only about five or six metres wide - the coals might enter our yard. Alternatively it might tumble in another direction, and fall (in part) either on the church house or the house in the yard right next to it. As long as the tree was burning I considered it a major fire hazard. Other people had by now also come to watch.

Like I said by twenty to eleven the fire truck arrived and they hosed down the trunk and put out the remainding smouldering bits.

Our whole yard is now covered in soot and bits of blackened leaves.

Willem you have given the most wonderful description of that burning palm tree,

Well done. I lived through it with you.

Christiane
AlsoRan80

Hello Christiane! How are you doing? Thanks for reading my posting and for your comments!

All the best,
Willem.

Hi willem!

So you are up already. !!

I got up at 5.30 a.m. this morning .

We have had a miserable few days of wind, high seas, extreme cold - all of whihc do not bother me in my beautiful flat flour floors up. ! In fact I love watching the tempest outside when I am nice and warm and safe. !!

What has happened to the palm tree. Has it fallen down yet? It should make a nice home for insects and possibly little wee animals. !!

Have you been again to that wonderful forest on the way to Zim I think it is?

I hope your Dad is bearing up well. Tell him to keep his chin up and not to worry. Just to enjoy every day that is given to us.

with much affection to you all

Chriotoane
AR80

Yes I am up already ... I got up at nine o' clock the morning which is hardly early! Anyways I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the 'tempest' there in your flat with the flour floors

I haven't been to any forests unfortunately! With my dad's illness I have hardly been out at all, lately. However my mom and I yesterday took a (VERY) short trip out to a little dam. We were off to buy clean drinking water. We have a water purifier at home but sometimes it purifies too slowly, so then we go and buy some extra water so the purifier's reservoir can fill up a bit. Anyways they sell purified water out near the industrial area so my mom and I drove there. On the way, just out of town, there's a small pond with a dirt road leading to it and around, so I asked my mom if we could quickly on the way back just take a quick tour around it, which we did. We saw on the pond:

- A little dabchick, a small kind of grebe.
- A few Red-knobbed Coots
- A Moorhen
- A big white bird too far to ID, either a big egret, or a spoonbill
- Quite a few little Red Bishops (small seed-eating birds, males with bright red and black plumage that they 'fluff up' when they display to the females) breeding in the reeds.

For a trip of about 10 minutes duration I don't think that was too bad!

I'll report in my journal about how things are going with my dad.

The palm tree is still standing! If it falls they'll probably cut it up and drive it away. Probably, its dead carcass will remain there for a while since the house and yard is uninhabited at the mo!