There was a wild fire last week the other side of the hill to us, towards San Cibrao. The wind must have been going in the other direction as it wasn’t until we were going to San Cibrao along the main road that we started to debate if it was low cloud or smoke we could see – then when we saw the fire engines and emergency vehicles it was quite clear it was a fire.
It was along the side of the lane where I normally walk in the morning and this was closed the next couple of days. When I went along it on Saturday, I could still see little puffs of flames.
Along the lane where I walk it seems that it was mainly the forest floor that burned and the trees seem relatively unscathed – in this bit at least, which admittedly is at the edge of the fire.
The fire stretched towards some houses and some where evacuated and people in the Care Center in San Cibrao were told to stay in because of the smoke.
The fire trucks were later parked on the main road and I think while the fire was under control they were letting it burn itself out. I think they were also watching a gas storage area which luckily missed the fire.
It reminded us of why we were so wise to be conscious of fires and eucalyptus when we were house hunting.
This is a photo from the newspaper. This was taken from a house at the edge of the fire at the other side.
They think the fire was started by lightening. I wasn’t aware of lightening that night – but there were certainly high winds. The winds were coming from the south and it was like a hairdryer was switched on. The weather was 25 degrees at 2am which just seems crazy! I still find it odd how the temperatures sometimes go up like that at night – but I guess that’s the influence of the sea.