ramble ramble
It's been a while; i'll (try to) keep it brief.
Most distressed to come home from work on wednesday under a veil of smoke which started about two miles from home and got gradually worse as the car zoomed nearer: the moorland located behind the town was on fire; probably due to the 35 degree temperatures, i guess.
So yes, this had been burning for 8hrs thus far, as local news and teletext informed me; my bedroom window had been wide open the whole time. So eyes stinging and trying to ignore the smell of burning peat (yes the moor is made of lots of peat), i walked the 30secs from the car to my front door, by which time i smelt like i'd fallen in a bbq - vile, utterly vile. Decided to go up to my room to change and discovered that my room, and all its contents now smelt all smokey; couldn't close the window as it was too hot, so had to sit there being generally grumpy.
Fire continued until late in the night; I saw a helicopter carrying a huge amount of water to drop on it and on the last news bulltein there were apparently 50 firefighters up there, who were going to have to leave it overnight. Thankfully it started to rain late on weds which helped quell said fire. However, being made of peat, not only does the fire spread along the grassy, heathery surface, it also spreads down into the uber rich and burn-friendly peat. Firemen were in attendance on thursday morning and all seemed well; i trudged to get my lift from work, under a very heavy sky - rainclouds and still dusty smokey smell lingering in the air, deciding that fire was out. wrong - return home from work on thursday, deciding window should be left open to aerate my room and hopefully remove the smokey smell, and find that the fire had started again during the day; the peat had apparently been burning underneath and no one had realised. So yes, room still smells, but i am assured by clear skies and no sign of smoke, that fire is well and truly out. I have decided that moor fires are bad, and now understand why bush fires in america et al are so bad.
tried to be brief but it just isn't happening.
Most distressed to come home from work on wednesday under a veil of smoke which started about two miles from home and got gradually worse as the car zoomed nearer: the moorland located behind the town was on fire; probably due to the 35 degree temperatures, i guess.
So yes, this had been burning for 8hrs thus far, as local news and teletext informed me; my bedroom window had been wide open the whole time. So eyes stinging and trying to ignore the smell of burning peat (yes the moor is made of lots of peat), i walked the 30secs from the car to my front door, by which time i smelt like i'd fallen in a bbq - vile, utterly vile. Decided to go up to my room to change and discovered that my room, and all its contents now smelt all smokey; couldn't close the window as it was too hot, so had to sit there being generally grumpy.
Fire continued until late in the night; I saw a helicopter carrying a huge amount of water to drop on it and on the last news bulltein there were apparently 50 firefighters up there, who were going to have to leave it overnight. Thankfully it started to rain late on weds which helped quell said fire. However, being made of peat, not only does the fire spread along the grassy, heathery surface, it also spreads down into the uber rich and burn-friendly peat. Firemen were in attendance on thursday morning and all seemed well; i trudged to get my lift from work, under a very heavy sky - rainclouds and still dusty smokey smell lingering in the air, deciding that fire was out. wrong - return home from work on thursday, deciding window should be left open to aerate my room and hopefully remove the smokey smell, and find that the fire had started again during the day; the peat had apparently been burning underneath and no one had realised. So yes, room still smells, but i am assured by clear skies and no sign of smoke, that fire is well and truly out. I have decided that moor fires are bad, and now understand why bush fires in america et al are so bad.
tried to be brief but it just isn't happening.