The big fire

[elsa hoffmann]

We had a devastating wild fire in the Cape In March 2015, which burned down several thousands of hectares of Fynbos (finebush)

Fynbos vegetation needs a fire every couple of years - I think 7 - as certain plants only germinate after a fire. Never to be seen again till the next fire. The damage done was quite extensive and some of the fires were deliberately set - over a period of probably a month - it just kept going. The fires being mostly on mountains - image that.

The fire shots I got about 3km from my home - I was up the mountain with the fire-fighters since 3am. I was lucky to be there.

150302 Fire 173 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

150302 Fire 206 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

150302 Fire 588 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

150308 Fire 470 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

150308 Fire 471B1 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

150302 Fire 298 by elsa hoffmann, on Flickr

[afx]

Great series!

Love the atmospheric feel of the first three.
Four is a lot less interesting, basically a documentation shot only.
What happened in five? From your description I thought it was a controlled fire?
The processing fits though.
The misty smoke in the last one is great.

Still remember driving right next to burning sugar cane fields in '91 in Natal.

cheers
afx

[elsa hoffmann]

Thanks Afx - sorry what I meant was it was set by arsonists. Not all of the fires though, as fires are also a natural thing that has to happen.
Yes some shots were taken to record the devastation. All part of the process.

[Rick Waldroup]

Great set, Elsa, especially the third shot.

I will never understand the mind of an arsonist.  Never.  It is simply beyond my comprehension to understand how someone can enjoy perpetrating such massive damage.

[Sash]

The helicopter shot is superb, love it.  The last one as well.

[Frank Fremerey]

Did you know the indigenous folks  did burn smaller portions regularly and intentionally? One of the reasons was to avoid the  huge unintentional fires. Main idea was to control pests and increase Biodiversity in a controlled way.

impressive coverage.

[Gary]

Nice set. I echo Rick that the third image tells the the best story.

[elsa hoffmann]

Thanks all for looking and commenting.

The helicopter shot is absolutely one of my favourites too!

The fynbos must burn every couple of years - its how it survives. And it is very important for the ecology. It gets too dry and thick - meaning growth is not good and the danger of run away fires become bigger. The idea is that there should be controlled fires - that hardly happens though.

[Lowell]

Elsa,
Great set.  I like the mystery of the last image.  In 1998 Yellowstone National park burned and the park service just let it go.  They had been holding down the forest fires to 50 years and as a consequence there was a lot of kindling in the form of huge stands of Lodgepole pines.  Subsequently, the studies have shown that almost all changes have been beneficial. The whole ecosystem has become much more diverse and robust.

Lowell

[antonoat]

Excellent series of images Elsa, I imagine it must be quite frightening to witness such a thing first hand, naturally
occurring or not!

When I was very young I took steps to enrol in the firefighting profession, I wasn't successful
with my application(political reasons, positive discrimination actually!) now I'm older and wiser
it may have been a blessing in disguise, the guys and gals who fight fires will always have my utmost respect.

Your experience and skill behind the camera really comes through in this series.

tony

[armando_m]

Impressive shots Elsa!

3am ? did someone called you and asked if you like to shoot something ? or the sirens wake you?

[elsa hoffmann]

Lowell - Exactly as you say - you just say it better than I do. Long and short of it - we need the fire.

Tony - Fire fighters are very special people. it up there with you need to have a calling for it  - we lost some firemen in this fire - and a helicopter pilot or two I think.

Armando - the fire started the night before - we could see the fire on the mountain - close by to me as this is where it started. I knew it was going to go big - so I waited - you kind of sleep with one eye open. Because it was in the middle of the night, I went places that was later closed off. 2 days later they had to close areas and streets as people were coming from everywhere to see the fire. The traffic actually turned into a nightmare and not even photo journalists could get close again.

[Jørgen Ramskov]

Really excellent shots, particularly the first 3.