Today As Told By Photos - A burning bush one hot summer night

May 09, 2020

It's been a while since I last had an adrenaline rush because of the lack of stimulus due to the lack of activity caused by the pandemic. 

However, something happened last night in our backyard. 

It's finally the summer season and temperature indexes in my area sometimes reach up to 40 degree Celsius peaking at around 2 to 3 pm. I live in a rural area where lots of trees grow and when there are trees, there are leaves and dead branches. It is not uncommon to find dead, dried grass on wide fields as well. We have a big backyard and we also use a dirty kitchen for some of our cooking activities. We store logs of firewood and we store some of them outside, in the open air. 

Last night, my family and I were in the living room. My brother then went to the kitchen and then asked my mother if she was burning something. My mother said no. I was surprised because I have already seen a glow outside but I thought it was just the reflection of car lights passing by. 

We looked out and see a tree-high fire.

My mother was frantic, and rightly so, as our old tricycle was near the fire and it had gasoline inside so the probability of an explosion was very high. We pulled the tricycle away and asessed the fire. I filled a bucket with water and delivered the first attempt to put it out. I heard a loud sizzle but the fire was so strong, the bucket of water almost didn't do a thing. My father and I kept on dousing off the fire until it died away. Even though it wasn't glowing anymore, we kept on pouring water to avoid any embers from igniting it again. It was night and a fire when everyone was sleeping would be a big problem.

I believe the fire started because of the extreme heat. I have seen a dry leaf catch fire just by being exposed to the sun one summer afternoon when I was a child. In my area, summers meant the beating sun in the midday and a cool breeze at sundown. The situation was perfect for dried wood and leaves to ignite on their own.

It was my first time putting out fire. I wasn't afraid, I was excited to have something to do. It was dangerous but I was happy to see how I reacted in such situation. I learned I was calm and composed, I even thought I was very cool. However, I have also learned one flaw in myself. I have already seen it reflecting on the windows and yet I dismissed it. Next time you see something, don't dismiss it until you make sure what is really happening.

These days are hard enough even without the sweltering summer heat. The pandemic has taken many people's lives, people's businesses, jobs, and opportunities. Hopefully, we all keep the composure we need in responding to emergencies.

Here are the photos of the aftermath.