Fire Risk

[David]

Hi all - I just drove to Santiago up from Portugal and have now moved east about 175 miles to offer first aid and pastoral care to pilgrims (I am around Astorga right now).
When I entered Spain there was a forest fire on my left, by the road. As it was right next to the motorway the chances are really high that it was started by a thrown cigarette butt. Helicopters overhead dropping water (and most likely lots of bewildered fish and the occasional aqualung diver), men and women out there risking their lives to control it.




The thing is, this summer is hot and dry, the whole of western Europe is madly hot and dry - it is absolutely like tinder out there ... now, I know none of you would drop lit cigarettes or litter but even an empty plastic bottle can become a lens, even more so if it has some liquid left in it, so if you see careless behaviour please do become involved.
Where I am this evening, just east of Astorga, I was looking to the north at what can only be a forest fire watch tower and way beyond on the horizon I could see a fire (actually smoke from a fire).

Now, I come from damp old England so I don't know much about all this but, should the worst happen, should any of us find ourselves in close contact with a fire ... are there Californians, Aussies, etc, who can give advice?
What does one do? Go for high ground? look for a stream or river? Anyone know?

 

[vlebe]

Excelente inputs @David .

I'm not saying that this was indeed caused by someone ( maybe it was just the sun) but, I still get very depressed thinking on the lack of care human beings practice in the outdoors.

Last couple of times on the Camino you'd be impressed on ho much litter I collected from the paths... Just thrown careless on the floor...

Now, About the fire, unfortunately I cannot give any appropriate advice.

I'm pretty sure someone will have inputs to give us pilgrims...

And for the pilgrims out there. Beware, be careful, stay out of trouble!

Buen camino to you all

 

[jsalt]

Very frightening. We had a terrible fire about 8 years ago. A local B&B owner got all his guests into the local dam, except for one couple who got in their car and tried to drive away. They were caught in the fire. Since then we have had much more controlled burning of fire breaks. I am sure the forested areas of Spain do that too. Jill

 

[dougfitz]

@David this is a great question, but if you are caught near a bush fire on foot you are in very precarious position. You might well have ignored advice from the local fire authorities to get yourself into that circumstance.

There are online resources available from Australian state fire authorities. Use a search using the terms bushfire safety bushwalking. I didn't check what might be available from other bushfire prone countries, but I assume it will be similar.

 

[nonami]

I live in a bushfire prone area in Australia. DougFitz has number one piece of advice: avoid walking into it in the first place. Do not go to high ground as fires travel faster up hills. Here is a link to some advice:

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/__data/as...Bush-Fire-Safety-for-Bushwalkers-Brochure.pdf

 

[dougfitz]

Thank you @nonami for posting the link. I couldn't get it to paste correctly on my tablet earlier when preparing my post.

 

[jirit]

Local Spanish media are reporting fires in the province of Caceres

http://spanishnewstoday.com/wild-fires-across-spain-as-july-heatwave-continues_77979-a.html

 

[Castilian]

As you can see on the official statistics: www.magrama.gob.es/es/desarrollo-rural/estadisticas/avanceinformativo1deeneroa17dejuliode2016_tcm7-358485.pdf this year is the one with less fires in the last decade and, overall, the one with less area burnt in the last decade.

I'm not saying that this was indeed caused by someone ( maybe it was just the sun) but, I still get very depressed thinking on the lack of care human beings practice in the outdoors.

There are many possible origins of a fire and, sadly, most of them are human related. BTW, we shouldn't forget about arsonists.

What does one do? Go for high ground? look for a stream or river? Anyone know?

I'm not an expert but in addition to the info on the link provided by @nonami on post number five, I would say: look where the wind is comming from (i.e.: look the direction of the wind) and, if possible, walk in the opposite direction (i.e.: feeling the wind on your face and not on your back).

Being British, you'll probably know the common Emergency Telephone Number of all the EU countries but for anyone reading who doesn't know it it's: 112

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Living and walking in the driest state in the driest inhabited continent on the planet I'm always very much bushfire aware. Fortunately, while I've seen quite a few, I've never been caught in one but am always aware of the wind direction whenever I leave home.

Parks Tasmania has excellent information specifically for bushwalkers on bushfires in its walker safety guidelines.

 

[amorfati1]

http://www.campingatv.net/caught-in-a-back-country-wildfire/

Grab your survival kit (never venture into the back country without one) and get as far away as possible from your ATV because most ATVs have plastic fuel tanks that will melt and explode when exposed too high heat. The following is a list of what to do if you are caught in a back country wildfire:

• The safest area would be in a sparse fuel area where there is less to burn.
• If you are in the mountains, the back side from the fire and wind is the safest.
• Canyons are considered by the firefighters as a natural “chimney” and saddles. Canyons are the last place you want to be caught out in the open during a wild fire.
• If there is a road is near, it’s best to lie face down along the road.
• If there is a ditch you could lie on the uphill side.
• If there is a large body of water like a pond or lake swim out to the middle.
• Look for anything that can help shield you from the fire’s heat.
• Find any kind of depression with as little fuel to burn as possible.
• Remove fuel away from the spot if there is time while the fire approaches.
• Lie face down in the depression and cover yourself even if you only have sand or dirt.
• Avoid wearing synthetic clothing if possible.
• Remain down on the ground until the fire has passed.

Typically a wildfire will pass in about 1 – 5 minutes. Once the fire has passed be careful because debris on the ground can still be white hot and burned trees and branches can easily fall. Try to find the road or trail you came into the area on. If the trail or road can not be found seek high ground and wait for rescue. Review the Lost in the Back Country post for information and tips on getting found in the back country.

===========
http://www.preventwildfireca.org/
http://www.bia.gov/nifc/prevention/Tips/index.htm

 

[dougfitz]

As a general observation, I would expect local authorities in places with a fire risk area through which a Camino route passes to have standing emergency/disaster plans they would activate should pilgrims (and others) be in danger from a bushfire. Following the directions of people implementing these plans would be my first response. Make sure you are either evacuated from the area of the fire, or don't even go there in the first place.

 

[Deacon Jason]

As part of the California contingent, I second all of the good advice above. Brush fires are fast and unpredictable -- I am currently living under the smoke cloud of a brush fire that started Friday in the local mountains and has now engulfed 33,000 acres. There are still 3000 firefighters trying to contain it while it burns the equivalent of 10000 football fields a day.

Best thing to do is stay as far away as possible!

 

[David]

Before we terrify all the new pilgrims out there! Most of the Camino is open land, only some of it is forest enclosed .. I really posted to ask pilgrims to be aware of what they are doing in this tinder box that the heat wave has made - let us hope for no fires whatsoever!!