Guest Post- Written by Brooklynn
This weekend a fire was reported in the woods on Kaleva Road, around Second Point Beach. The fire department put it out.
My dad found another spot smoldering tonight, not far from the last one. My dad and I went to check it (it is June 10’th 2012 8:10). My dad is a volunteer firefighter in Sointula.
We believe the cause of this fire was that somebody went out for a weenie roast on the beach and forgot to put out their fire!
To put out the fire tonight we used fifty pound water bags and a shovel to turn over the forest floor.
When we went to check it, it was not smoking too bad, but it was still hot. Daddy said it could have been smoldering for weeks.
My advice is that people should remember to put out their fires before they leave the beach to help prevent forest fires. One little ember can become a big fire!
Pictures of the fire are included in the slideshow below:
Hi Brooklyn,
You did a really good job describing the fire near Kaleva Rd. You are very brave for helping your dad control the fire. I am sure he is very proud of you!
Dear Louise,
Thank you for leaving the grade 2/3 class a comment. Tonight for fire practice my dad and the rest of the fire department are going to go look for more burnt marks and put the fire out completeley.
What class are you in and where do you live? Have you had fires like that where you live?
From
Brooklynn
Hi Brooklynn,
I teach 2nd grade in Fort Worth, Texas but we are on summer vacation now. When does your vacation start?
In Texas, during the hot, dry summer and fall, we get a lot of grass fires. Sometimes they are started by lightning or sometimes they start because people are careless. Last year a big grass fire in west Texas destroyed lots of crops and cattle. Because Texas is so flat and windy, fires can spread very quickly. Sometimes we can smell and see the smoke from fires that are miles away.
It sounds like your dad and the fire department are doing a good job to keep everyone safe!
Mrs. Morgan
Dear Mrs.Morgan
Our vacation starts on June 28. Today is June 11.
Here in Sointula where I live we do not have that many fires, and we hardly have any lightning!
Do you have a fire department?
Your friend,
Brooklynn
Brooklynn,
How did you celebrate your mom’s birthday?
I live in neighborhood near a very large city so we have many firefighters. There are fire stations in every neighborhood. Sometimes there are house fires.
In summer we have a lot of violent storms with thunder, lightning, hail, and tornadoes. Occasionally, when a hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico, we can get a lot of rain and bad weather. Do you get many storms or much snow on your island?
Mrs. Morgan
Dear Mrs.Morgan,
Here on are little island we hardly have any snow or lightning and no hurricanes. The kind of weather that is most common for us is rain. Rain, rain, and more rain. The longest stretch of sun I remember was four days. Today it was really foggy. Do you have much fog or rain in Texas?
From
Brooklynn
Dear Brooklynn,
It is so sad that you found a fire.
You are so right one little ember can cause a big fire.
I like the shocking music it is very alert and scary.
Too bad Sointula has found 3 alredy. I just hope we don’t find anymore fires. It is never fun to see a fire
in the wild.
If you saw a forest fire what would you do?
Tell your parents?
Call the fire department?
Or run around in circles?
I would tell my dad so he could call the fire department.
Hope you write back.
Ana.
Dear Ana,
If I saw a forest fire my dad would have been with me so I would tell him he would tell the fire depatment and I am pretty sure they would not run around in circles.
From
Brooklynn
Hello again Brooklynn!
Yes, we sometimes get fog and we get rain during certain times of the year – especially in the spring. In the summer we can get big thunderstorms that roll through quickly, but don’t last very long.
Mrs. Morgan
Dear Brooklynn
Your forest looks a lot like the forest areas we have in our area, with mossy logs and many ferns. I guess that’s because both live in a temperate rainforest area!
Our local fire brigade is also a volunteer brigade. Every Monday night the siren goes at 7.30pm to signal practice night. While we do get lightning storms I don’t recall any fires caused by lightning. Our brigade seems to be called out more often for traffic accidents than fires.
I think we have only ever had one female fire brigade member.
Do you have females in your brigade? Is that something you would like to volunteer for when you are older?
regards
Mrs McKenzie from B4
Dear Mrs. McKenzie,
Sointula hardly has any traffic accidents or fires too, but lately we have had quite a few fires. We also do not have much lightning here in Sointula. Where do your traffic accidents normally come from? We have one girl in our fire department.
From
Brooklynn
Dear Brooklynn
Your post is keeping you busy – you’re doing a great job of replying to the comments 🙂
Our town is a junction for three main highways. From here people can travel east to Christchurch, south to Greymouth and north to Westport and Nelson. So any traffic accidents are usually out on the open road, usually involving travelers who are unfamiliar with the roads. Our roads get very icy in the winter which causes problems too.
I hope you have a lovely fun-filled summer break!
warm wishes
Mrs McKenzie