When flames roar towards your home
HOT TOPIC: Wild fires devastate area
AS I pen this in Schoenies on Monday afternoon, the aftermath of a frightening weekend is still with us.
The air is pungent with the smell of smoke and everything is covered with ash, even inside our home.
After a horrendous few days – please God, no more!
The tiny Schoenies community was up all of Friday night as fires threatened homes in Salex Lane, folk being asked to evacuate their homes.
In the early hours of the morning the fire veered and the danger abated.
All breathed a sigh of relief, it was all over . . . or was it?
Saturday afternoon will forever be etched in my memory as huge flames fanned by a gale bore down on our little village at frightening speed.
A huge wave of flames engulfed the air, lighting up the surrounds, uncontrollable and relentlessly consuming everything in its path – an apocalyptic taste of Armageddon!
A few fire engines manned by heroic fire officers and groups of Schoenies people stood by, helpless, in its path.
Suddenly my much loved home, Seashell Cottage, was enveloped in thick cloying smoke, one could not see your hand before your eyes. Was it really happening to us, to me? What do you take with you in an evacuation situation?
As you look at your home, a repository of memories, a lifetime of mementos – the very idea of losing it all is a frightening scenario beyond conception.
However, only when faced with the actual reality can one begin to share with those who have lost everything, have an inkling of the pain and despair as they watched while their very lives were consumed by the pitiless fire.
There was not much time and so our loved animals were our first concern, then snatching here and there, passports, deed box and . . ?
Thanks to the wonderful firemen and the concerted efforts of brave Schoenies’ volunteers who managed to stem the fire and saved our homes, almost at the last moment, a miracle!
The devastating fires elsewhere have appalled all of us and as a community our little village responded magnificently offering help, accommodation for displaced pets, sending bakkie-loads of clothes and food to the affected areas.
But it was happening to “them”, not to us.
It could never happen to us?
Or could it? And now it almost did!
It is in dire circumstances such as this one is absolutely overwhelmed by the communal outreach of folk who really care, a Schoenies family, unconditionally there for each other.
Groups of Schoenies people gathered around, opening their homes to evacuees in need, hosepipes in hand, buckets of water, Gail, my next door neighbour, making egg and bacon rolls at 2am for the firemen!
Our mayor, Athol Trollip, and his wife manning a hose, brave firemen who did their very best to keep the fire at bay – one cannot speak highly enough of these men! They are a credit to Port Elizabeth! The recent news is frightening: storms in Cape Town, the horrendous fire catastrophe in Knysna and elsewhere, loss of life and the unbelievable suffering brought upon so many people – homeless, cold and devoid of hope.
And the country and the world staggering from one crisis to another.
As a world and certainly in South Africa, we are self-destructing at the altar of self-interest – worshipping the idols of corruption, lascivious living, money, all the worldly things – and as a people, we are fast losing our soul.
I wonder if our heavenly Father’s patience has been stretched to the limit?
Enough is enough even for His unending forbearance. And how futile are we in the path of His wrath!
Talbot Cox, Schoenmakerskop, Port Elizabeth