Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Eucalyptus emergency

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Blackened earth and the acrid smell of ash!
What happened to our eucalyptus grove down in the wadi??
Our beloved nature place where the grandkids and I used to have adventures! 


I found this brush fire putter-outer lying on the ground and stood it up next to a eucalyptus that had lost its bark to the fire.
This is a common emergency tool in Israel, just a wooden stick and a piece of rubber, primitive but effective.
What's it called in English, anyway?


Only the tree and bush skeletons were left in part of the grove.
I wonder how the fire started.
Maybe from a falling rocket, but the local authorities didn't want to tell us?
"Keep calm" is the watchword these days, after all. 

OK, keep calm, Dina, and forget that this wadi is just two blocks from my house.
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(Linking to ABC Wednesday E Day)
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19 comments:

  1. You would think crater damage would be there in that instance. It looks like it's been quite dry, so a brush fire isn't out of the question.

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  2. William, yes it is dry season when Israel has no rain for about half a year. So very dry.

    "Crater damage" hmm, that is a term I need. Thanks.
    There are signs that a tractor went through, scraping the area, after (or during?) the fire.
    I should call the town council and ask, but they are all on vacation this week.

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  3. We won't dwell on it! I find the fire-puter-outer emblematic of the Israeli spirit: "What works!"



    Shalom, Dina

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  4. Cloudia, ha! I think you are right.
    While on kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley in 1968, I joined in the effort to put out a fire that started in the Martin Buber Forest in the hills above the kibbutz. We used those same rubber batter things like in my photo. It is very scary work trying to whack fire on the ground just a stick's length away from you. And tiring. But it worked!

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  5. I am always sad when I see forests fires, and we have more than our shares here in SoCal. I wonder if other kinds of trees could be replanted instead of eucalyptus?

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  6. Fire season is a scary time and we are surrounded by eucalyptus trees which ignite like matches. That paddle thing looks like a very useful instrument for many things.

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  7. difficult to keep calm these days

    ROG, ABCW

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  8. A falling rocket? Yikes! I guess it's probably more like a brush fire which I hope you don't get more of.

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  9. When you asked what it's called in English, I took up the challenge. Google "fire beaters" . . .

    I sure hope it wasn't a falling rocket. Well, as William said, if there is no crater damage it probably wasn't a projectile, just an ordinary brush fire. And may it stay that way too, where you live!

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  10. I hope your eucalyptus grove regenerates over the next few seasons. It's been known to happen.

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  11. Friends, thanks for your comments.
    I forgot to mention that brush fires are often caused by the hot falling fragments after an Iron Dome missile intercepts a Gaza rocket.

    Sara, "fire beater" -- that's it! Thank you!

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  12. The brushfire tool is known as a "flapper."

    http://firesafetyplus.com/heavydutyfireflapperwithfiberglasshandle.aspx

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  13. Thanks Dr. M! Flapper!
    Now I have the image of a chorus line of flappers standing in the woods dancing. LOL

    There is even a Wipi entry for fire flappers:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_flapper_%28tool%29

    It says the fire flapper tool is also called a swatter or a beater.

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  14. Poor eucalyptus trees... I hope you will be able to solve this mystery!

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  15. At the back of my mind I seem to remember something about fire and eucalyptus being part of its adaptation so hopefully you will see their return.

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  16. More like a bush fire of unknown cause rather than a rocket. There would be a crater.

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  17. So sad, hope they grow back.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  18. I hope William is right. It sounds logical.

    The town council shouldn't all go on vacation at the same time!

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  19. Dina
    I hope it is just summer fier.But it can also be those rocket's parts.

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