From Kloofing to Fire Fighting

We had an amazing adventure of Kloofing and camping arranged for the weekend of April 15th, but fate has a funny way of changing plans.  We spent the night at the Uva Mira vineyard with a scheduled departure time of 12:30 pm on Saturday to begin our adventure.  Well, we had an adventure alright.  Noticing the smoke coming from the other side of the valley and the flames on top of the mountain we figured it was best to stick around Uva Mira to see if we could be of any help.  As it turns out we spent the day helping to evacuate the main house and then Derrick stayed to help fight the fire.  The fires burned on and around Uva Mira until Monday night.  Luckily there was only one injury, and all the buildings were saved.  It was my first fire and I was impressed how the surrounding farms and vineyards all called to offer assistance and men.  It was inspiring to see the groups of men arrive ready, willing and able to help keep the fire at bay.  The fire department in South Africa is nothing like that in America.  They have more of a hands-off policy than a hands-on policy.  Had it not been for the Uva Mira staff the place would have been lost.  Of course Derrick had a vested interested in helping to save the vineyard as it is his ancestral home, but had it not been for he and the team of men he led, the main house would have gone up in flames.  My many thanks to everyone who helped with the evacuation and fire fighting.  It is certainly an experience I will never forget but possibly an adventure I could have done without.

For more information on the Stellenbosch/Helderberg fire click on the link.



Diamond Fact:  Well this one is a bit off the norm, but is certainly apropos. . . The Fire Diamond is a four colored diamond that appears on the sides of building and tanks in the United States.  These signs indicate the level of chemical hazard located within the container or building. They are made up of the colors blue, red, yellow and white.  The numbers superimposed over the colors indicate the severity of the danger.