Fogos

The other side of the mountain - Sep 20, 2008

There is a small newspaper in Águas da Prata called Jornal Pratense. I expected to see some commentary and maybe some pictures of this massive fire. There was no mention of it at all. There was no mention of how the fire started and if there was to be any kind of investigation.

So I set about to show just a little of the aftermath. Here is a small collection of photos showing how widespread the fire was.

This pic was taken from the highway to Poços de Caldas.

This side of the mountain was completely burned. Most of the fire was of grasses and some trees. Trees were not completely consumed.

In the distance you can see the entire mountainside was burned.

There is a small farm in this pic. The fire came almost to the farmhouse. The railroad track is between the farmhouse and the edge of the burn.

A train came through at 10:00 p.m. the night of the fire. It must have been a spectacular trip because the train came through as the fire was at its height of burning, right up to the train tracks.

This is near Cascatinha. The fire must have started around here. There is no official statement yet but it is possible there is a pyromaniac in Águas da Prata that set off the fire.

On the north end of the mountain there are houses right beside the train tracks. This view is from one block further away. From here the sound of the fire was deafening. The entire mountainside here was aflame.

Maybe we will get some official word about the fire. One thing of note is the firefighters come from São João da Boa Vista. Due to a difference of opinion with our current mayor they do not respond to fire calls from Águas da Prata.

However when homes are threatened, as they were here, they do come if the home owner calls for help.

Surely there can be a better plan of support here!

There are elections coming up next month. Maybe the new administration can come to a better arrangement with the firefighters.

Photos by Urso Branco

Raging Inferno

By 9 p.m. tonight (Sep 12, 2008) the fire had spread the entire length of the mountain on the east side of town.

The noise of the fire was getting louder and the winds were increasing.

This is what the fire looked like from the street in front of our house, just five blocks from the fire.

Notice the church, 2 blocks from our house.

This pic was taken in the church yard. The fire is raging on the mountain behind the church.

By now it had spread to the north end of the mountain as was threatening homes.

The yop of the mountain was c0mpletely engulfed in flames.

Unlike the fire of Jul 2006 which was basicaly grass and underbrush, this fire was so big the trees were fully engulfed. You could hear the pine trees exploding as the sound intensified.

The fire became so intense the street lights went off for a few minutes. Here I am three blocks from the fire.

The wind was blowing from north to south and was building minute by minute.

The next few pics were all taken within about ten minutes. This is the north end of the mountain.

Notice that bright area in the middle bottom of the pic. That started when a pine tree up the mountain exploded and sent a ball of fire down the mountain.

In less than a minute it started to spread.

Two minutes later it is racing back up the mountain

I have never seen a fire spread so fast. The wind spread it and it also created its own wind.

About 5 minutes from the start the little area has become immense.

The sound was deafening to the people living in homes near there.

It just got bigger and bigger!

As I walkedaway from the fire it seemed to grow.

Now a block further away I look back and see the fire cobers the mountain side completely. In less than 10 minutes.

This is the view across the highway and through the park at 10:00 p.m.

It looks like the whole mountain side will be burned by morning.

Photos by Urso Branco

Another large fire in Águas da Prata - Sep 2008

On Sept 12, 2008, at 3:pm we saw smoke over the mountain. A large fire was well underway when we saw it. The fire is on top of the mountain on or near our friend's farm.

Here is what we saw from our house.

The fire is about 1 to 2 km away.

It grew in intensity for three hours.

We thought it was under control or even extinguished by 6:00 p.m. But we were wrong. After dark we could see the fire was spreading rapidly. In this pic you can see another small fire to the south of the main fire. The fire had now come over the mountain and was burning furiously down towards the houses.

Here you can see the undergrowth burning under the tall trees. The next two pics were taken using a telephoto lens. The fire is about 1.5 km from our house.

The speed with which this fire is moving is scary.

Photos by Urso Branco

Another Fire in Águas da Prata

On New Years Eve we went to Poços de Caldas to see the fireworks there. See our Blog "Natal no Brasil" at http://natalnobrasil.blogspot.com view the post "Happy New Year 2008 - Fireworks in Poços de Caldas".

The fireworks there were spectacular. We had no idea that fireworks had turned bad back home in Águas da Prata.

This is the scene we were greeted with when we arrived home at 3 a.m. This hillside in front of our home was ablaze.

There was a line of small fires going up the mountain and over the top. The line was an arc of small fires (at least 40 of them) spaced a meter or two apart. The fires were getting quite vigorous when we arrived home. (Note: It is difficult to take Nightime photos of fires)

The next day we woke up to see the entire hillside devasted.

These are views from the street of how much had burned.

Here is a view from the top. You can see the fires started into the coffee trees before it stopped.

I estimate about 100 coffee trees were effected.

The fire was uncomfortably close to these very large cane fields.

Although there was no definite proof the fires were started by fireworks, and I am not an expert, but I found lots of bits and pieces of skyrocket all over the place the next day.

An important thing to be aware of is that the nearest Fire Department Troop is in São João da Boa Vista. I am told they no longer respond to fire calls from Águas da Prata because of some dispute with our Mayor. So we have no fire fighting defences at all. That just is not very encouraging.

Photos by Urso Branco

Fireworks in Poços de Caldas

Happy New Year 2008 - Fireworks in Poços de Caldas

Every New Year's Eve they put on a fantastic fireworks show in downtown Poços de Caldas, in the park behind the Palace Hotel.

This year was probably the best ever. The spectacular show went on non stop for 30 minutes. There was lots of bangs and smoke as the skyrockets lit up the night sky over Poços de Caldas.

At the same time, and throughout the day, people let off "bombs" all over town.

Here is a collection of photos of some of the fireworks.

The park behind the Palace hotel is lit up beautifully at night.

Thousands of people gather all around the park. This photo was taken an hour before the fireworks began.

They set off the fireworks on the sidewalk between grassy areas in full view of everyone behind the Palace Hotel.

So the show began with a bang at midnight!

It was an amazing spectacle! Happy New Year, Everyone, Everywhere!

Note: This post is repeated in our Blog "Natal no Brasil" at

http://natalnobrasil.blogspot.com/

Photos by Urso Branco

The Brasilian Lawnmower

Introducing the Brasilian Lawnmower

I became aware of the Brasilian Lawnmower in April of 2006.

It seems that manual, gas or electric lawnmowers are either impractical or too expensive. Either that or Brasilians just don't want to take the time to cut the grass!

So they invented the Brasilian Lawnmower.

I saw it in action for the first time on April 21, 2006. I saw this smoke across town so I walked over to investigate and was startled to see this sight in the middle of the town. A fellow was clearing the grass from a city lot.

As I watched the fire spread rapidly. But no one seemed to care! No firemen were called. No one came. The fires just spread to the walls around the lot and stopped. What was I all excited about?

But that was not all we were to experience. In May we had a big surpise. See the Post "The Fires get Closer to Home " for more photos and descriptions of another fogo. Look at the smoke on the street near our home!

The next BIG event began on July 23, 2006. We were coming home from São Joao da Boa Vista when we saw the beginnings of the BIG FIRE of 2006. See the Post "The BIG FIRE Starts". This fire burned for three days.

On Day 2 it was burning vigourously on the other side of the mountain. A second fire had been criminaly set in Fonte Platina (an area of Águas da Prata) and joined the first fire then spread into farms including an Ostrich farm. See the Post "Day Two of the Fire". It burned for one more day.

Then on August 4, 2006 I went up the mountain to inspect the damage. It was awful. See the Post "After the Fire - Devastation Part 1" then the next Post "After the Fire - Devastation Part 2" for more photos.

After the fire was burned out and before I went up the mountain to inspect the damage there was another fire set in town. Once again our street filled with smoke.

This is unbelievable. These two pics were taken at noon. Some fool was clearing the grass again.

You would think that that was the end of the story. But alas no! More FOGOS continued in late August through September.

These are special fires, set on purpose by the farmers who are harvesting cane to make alcool. See the Post "Fogo! Cane Fires". We woke up to the smell of smoke in the house again and then saw this coming over the mountain, on the west side of the valley this time.

These cane fires continued through September everywhere they were harvesting the cane.

Three Months later, on October 28, 2006 I went for a hike up the mountain to the north of town and took this photo showing how the east mountain is coming back. It is now a lush green again. See the Post "Fogo! Rejuvenation Three Months Later".

Finally the last Post "What the Press Wrote" talks of the fire, its effects and what the Police are doing about it.

Photos by Urso Branco

The Fires Get Closer to Home

On May 31, 2006 we smelled smoke in our house.

There was smoke rising over the houses across the street. There was a fire in the empty lot on the next block in front of us. The Brasilian Lawnmower was at work again.

Here was the start of it all.

It was a grass fire with a great deal of smoke. It blanketed the entire neighbourhood!

The fire had been set on purpose to clear the grasses on the lot. The empty lot is large, walled, and occupies enough space for four or five homes.

It seems odd to me that people put up with this in town. It actually is illegal.

Imagine coming home from work at day's end and finding your house full of smoke. This was the intersection of streets just around the corner from our place.

The smoke was really thick up and down the street.

When the smoke died down this is what the lot looked like.

Incredible as it may seem, the next morning they did it again. This time they were burning scrap lumber from a construction site in the same lot. In our own home we could hardly breathe. So we complained and they stopped burning.

So that was the end of fires . . . . . or so we thought!

Photos by Urso Branco

The BIG FIRE Starts!

On Jul 23, 2006 we had gone to São Joao de Boa Vista early in the afternoon. As we drove back into town at 4:30 we saw smoke rising high into the air over Águas da Prata. We joked that someone must be having a really big BBQ.

Here is what we saw as we entered town.

We drove closer and realized it was a fire in the forest on the mountainside on the east side of town.

It wasn't very big at this time and probably could have been put out easily if anybody wanted to bother.

Finally someone started to take it seriously as it approached close to this Pousada (Hotel). Someone called the Bombeiros (Fire Department) but they are in São Joa da Boa Vista several km away and didn't respond to fight the fire.

The fire got worse as it started to climb the mountain.

Then it started to spread rapidly across the mountain top. Still no help came.

The smoke and flames spread some more.

The fire started right beside this house. Police believe it was started deliberately.

We watched from the main highway through town. Cars and trucks drove by and drivers were likely unaware of the fire just over their heads. If you didn't look up you

This is another burn, right at the road side. But I found out later it was from three days earlier in the exact place where this day's fire started.

We went home as it got darker and the fire seemed to be burning itself out.

At around 8 p.m. I went into our bedroom and I could hear a crackling noise. I looked out the window. There, across the river, on the east side of the valley, the mountain was totally engulfed in flames. These night shots don't give even a hint at how awesome the fire had become.

In the total darkness the flames were all you could see because of the smoke. The crackling noise of the fire was very loud.

I took my camera and went down to the river to get a better look at what was happening.

By this time the fire was coming back down the mountain and came within 100 meters of the Shell Station. By 7:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. Bombeiros (Firemen) had shown up from as far away as Campinas. Even the Federal Police Firemen were there. But you couldn't see them in the darkness.

The fire was spreading rapidly around the mountain to the other side and over the top as well.

It was now burning close to houses and commercial buildings.

Brasileiros took all this in stride. I saw a group of them in a tavern drinking calmly. Their rationale was "Fire burns up Hill." or "It happens every year. So why worry about it?" The fire was only 50 meters from that tavern and they never budged.

When the fire rounded the corner it came right up to the walls of houses.

There were hot spots everywhere!

I expected to see total devastation by daylight as it kept burning through the night.

Photos by Urso Branco

Day Two of the Fire

Day two of the fire could be called Death on the Mountain!

On July 24, 2006 I walked around the corner from our house expecting to see the fire was out. However it had gone around the mountain to the other side as well as over the top and was still burning furiously.

Also, a second fire was set criminaly in Fonte Platina, an area on the south edge of town. This second fire joined up with the first on the mountain top.

Columns of smoke were visible all day!

Smoke billowed up over the mountain looking worse the closer I got.

I could see the scorched earth up the mountain behind the houses where I had watched the fire last night. You can see more smoke as the fire burns around the mountain.

The fire was also still burning to the south very vigorously. I could hear gunfire as the farmers were shooting severely injured livestock and wildlife early in the morning.

I went around to the backside of the mountain to see how badly the fire had burned the brush.

Later we drove along the highway and here you can see Urubus floating over the burn looking for dead and dying wildlife up on top of the mountain.

I could see the fire burning furiously around the Ostrich Farm on top of the mountain. It seemed nobody was fighting the fire. At least I couldn't see anyone up there from the highway. But the farmers and their neighbours were fighting valiantly to save their livestock and farms.

The fire burned for another day. We learned two Ostriches had died. pigs, cattle and numerous wildlife too. The fire had travelled several kms before it finally died out. It burned 30 alqueires or 360.6 acres

A couple days later the newspapers reported there would be an investigation because this fires had been set deliberately. As of Nov 15 we have heard no further news about the investigation. See the news report at the end of the BLOG. "What the Press Wrote".

Photos by Urso Branco

After the Fire - Devastation Part 1

Over the three days from August 4 to August 6 I went up on the mountain to see the damage. These photos were taken Aug 4, 2006.

You can see how the mountain side has been cleared of all grasses and bushes.

I went up the Caminho da Fe to assess the damage. Look at this scorched Palm tree to the left of centre. We will see it again, three months later.

Here you can see how the grasses have been burned off and many trees with their dead and burnt leaves still on them.

Some trees were completely burned to the stump whereas others were still intact but burned badly.

It was interesting to see how some trees were spared altogether.

In other areas there was very little spared.

Look at this unusal place. The grass in the middle of the path was not burned at all. The fire jumped the pathway in many places.

This is looking back the way we came. You can see here where the fire jumped the path in several places.

What a contrast between unburned and burnt areas!

Fresh paint! The Camonho da Fe people had already been up here marking the way! See the yellow arrow. To follow the Caminho da Fe you just follow the yellow arrows for 400 kms.

Another view back down towards to houses that were at the edge of the fire.

Now turn around and look up the mountain at total devestation. So sad!

Another view looking up.

This is a view around the other side of the mountain. Look at the cane, completely baked.

I went down the other side to see how far the fire spread there.

Baked Cactus anyone? Remember what this looks like. We will see it again, three months later.

We backtracked a ways to continue up the mountain. Here is where the fires raged the greatest during the first night. It was a spectacular sight and now you can see why. The damage here was total.

Here many trees were burnt completely or roasted. It was just a matter of how fast the fire was travelling.

Now, with no underbrush, you can see the dozens of very large ant hills there are on the mountain. Here is one, it is that red mound amid the burnt trees.

These trees were burned right to the top.

That is the monkey forest in the background. The monkies ran away from the fire to the other side of that mountain, across the highway.

Now we will continue higher. The devastation is worse the higher up we go.

This favourite roosting place for Urubus is burnt badly.

Look closely at this tree. All the leaves are burned off and the tree is blackened to the top. There are two birds on the burnt branches in the top left. We will look at this tree again three months later.

As we continue closer to the crest of the mountain you can see how everything was burned here. Nothing was left untouched.

Look everywhere! Nothing but scorched rocks and trees. No grasses left here.

More scorched earth.

Looking across the valley. A case of far away fields look greener!

But look here. What a surprise!!! New grass growing already, only 2 weeks after the fire. Amazing!!

Amid all the scorched places fresh grass was already starting to regrow.

A Mystery. What is that cistern doing part way up the mountain? I don't know.

We will leave you with this last photo of the scorched mountain. Is it scarred forever?

Photos by Urso Branco