Firewatching

So I was nearly asleep late last night when I caught wind of a 2nd alarm scrub fire burning out of control on the Eastern Hills out in the Hutt Valley. I ummed and ahh'ed about whether it was worth driving out there or not... but when i got word that the fire was close to skuttling the Anderson residence, thereby correcting a lifetime of bastardry, i thought this i had to see.

I scrambled out of bed and ran down to the car, scanner in one hand, shoes in the other. As I hit the motorway, still some kilometers from the fireground, I could see a wrath of fire lighting up a beacon right across the city. By the time I got to Waterloo the flames pierced the night-sky rising to mammoth heights over the hills. I, like every other nutjob in town, drove directly to the fire, seeking the best vantage point possible. As I turned on to Riverside Drive, traffic came to a screeching gridlocked halt. There was nowhere to go. Cars to the left of me, cars to the right... everyone's bonnets facing different directions while everyone's eyes were fixated on the best show in town. As the novelty of the situation wore off and people slowly realised that this traffic jam wasn't going to fix itself, the people in the cars started to look at each other... each one as embarrassed to be there as me.

With the cars not moving there was little else to do but to get out and mingle with the people on the street. I've been to many a bush fire in my time, and what is really striking is the way that these events bring out the community. People come out of their houses, people drive, cycle and run from all directions just to get a better look at it. And people actually talk to one another. It reminded me of a fire I went to in Cannons Creek one year. A Samoan family had opened up their lawn, with the best view of the fire, so that rubber neckers could get a good look at the action as the helicopters whirled overhead. The atmosphere last night made me wish i'd called into the grocery store on the way down there and bought a big bag of marshmallows for everyone to roast.

Oh yeah and in case anybody wondered - the Anderson residence survived.