Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
Thanks Ann. The community is assisting wherever needed but there are a lot of political undertones too. The Muni is claiming they did all sorts of things whereas in fact they did very little. None of the Fire Engines were working so the Mine fire teams had to be called in. The delay was IMO the main cause of the extensive losses. Also, the water reservoir was depleted so water pressure & flow from the hydrants was very low. Sadly, this is how South Africa is land wide today. Alan C On Wed, Sep 20, 2023 at 3:16 PM ann sanfedele wrote: > Alan - glad to hear, at least ,your home was not a victim.. I wager > there is not a US or Canadian list member who has not recently been > subject to > dangerously high pollution due to smoke from fires .. some of us much > more than others ..and have a good sense of what you personally are > experiencing. > don't take deep breaths to keep calm and carry on > > ann > > > On 9/17/2023 1:28 AM, Alan C wrote: > > Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds > > from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly > > got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & > > setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic > > Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from > > the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting > > helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to > > bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & > > others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the > > worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much > > cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would > > be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if > > you look. > > > > Alan C > > -- > > %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List > > To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net > > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > > follow the directions. > > -- > ann sanfedele photography > https://annsan.smugmug.com > https://www.cafepress.com/+ann-sanfedele+gifts > https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/annsan > https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/annsanfedelecalendarsandbooks > -- > %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List > To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. > -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
Thanks all. The community is rallying round. Perhaps "ghoulish" was a bit strong. There are plenty of images "for posterity" on the web. Alan C On 17-Sep-23 09:47 PM, Bruce Nagel wrote: On Sun, Sep 17, 2023 at 02:50:04PM -0400, pdml-requ...@pdml.net wrote: Message: 2 Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2023 07:28:51 +0200 From: Alan C Subject: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa To: Pentax Discus Mail List Message-ID: <7696a514-215a-4c46-81e8-b5d733092...@lantic.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Yesterday was a very hot day (40?C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene &? a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. I'm glad you're okay Alan, it sounds like they had quite a fight on their hands getting it under control. We've been fortunate to only deal with the smoke blowing in from distant wildfires living in Washington and now Detroit. I hope this one was an anomaly for Phalaborwa. Bruce N. -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
I'm glad you're ok and that no one died from the fire. On 9/17/2023 1:28 AM, Alan C wrote: Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. Alan C -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- Vivere in aeternum aut mori conatur -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software. www.avg.com -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
It’s been a bad few years for a lot of people, I’m sorry to hear it’s been your turn. I hope you’re not too badly affected personally by it. I agree with Larry’s comment about ghoulishness. Bon courage. > On 17 Sep 2023, at 07:31, Alan C wrote: > > Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the > west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, > jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched > roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available > local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the > scene & a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still > took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally > destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far > the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much > cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be > ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. > > Alan C > -- > -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
Larry makes a good point.. and he is one who I was thinking of particularly when I made my comments. ann On 9/17/2023 1:54 AM, Larry Colen wrote: By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. Speaking as someone whose home town was ravaged by fire just over three years ago, there's a difference between ghoulish and documenting for posterity, and it is important to keep that in mind. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com. sent from Mirkwood -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- ann sanfedele photography https://annsan.smugmug.com https://www.cafepress.com/+ann-sanfedele+gifts https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/annsan https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/annsanfedelecalendarsandbooks -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
Alan - glad to hear, at least ,your home was not a victim.. I wager there is not a US or Canadian list member who has not recently been subject to dangerously high pollution due to smoke from fires .. some of us much more than others ..and have a good sense of what you personally are experiencing. don't take deep breaths to keep calm and carry on ann On 9/17/2023 1:28 AM, Alan C wrote: Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. Alan C -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- ann sanfedele photography https://annsan.smugmug.com https://www.cafepress.com/+ann-sanfedele+gifts https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/annsan https://www.createphotocalendars.com/Shop/annsanfedelecalendarsandbooks -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
That must have been a frightening experience. And it is not yet summer in your area. I guess you get more rain in summer? Henk Op zo 17 sep 2023 om 07:40 schreef Alan C : > Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from > the west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of > control, jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting > several thatched roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant > Guest House. All available local firefighting services from the town > fire brigade & mines were on the scene & a firefighting helicopter was > brought in from Tzaneen but It still took 10 hours to bring the fire > under control. 12 houses were totally destroyed & others damaged but > fortunately there was no loss of life. By far the worst disaster in > Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. Much cooler today but the > air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be ghoulish to take > photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. > > Alan C > > -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
Re: OT: Fire in Phalaborwa
> On Sep 16, 2023, at 10:28 PM, Alan C wrote: > > Yesterday was a very hot day (40°C) in Phalaborwa with strong winds from the > west. A veld fire broke out to the West of the town & rapidly got of control, > jumping Spekboom Street on the western boundary & setting several thatched > roofed houses on fire including the iconic Elegant Guest House. All available > local firefighting services from the town fire brigade & mines were on the > scene & a firefighting helicopter was brought in from Tzaneen but It still > took 10 hours to bring the fire under control. 12 houses were totally > destroyed & others damaged but fortunately there was no loss of life. I'm glad that it wasn't much worse, and I expect that had your house been one of the 12 you would have mentioned, so I'm glad you are OK. > By far the worst disaster in Phalaborwa in the 47 years I have been here. > Much cooler today but the air is still filled with smoke. I felt it would be > ghoulish to take photos but you can find some on the internet if you look. Speaking as someone whose home town was ravaged by fire just over three years ago, there's a difference between ghoulish and documenting for posterity, and it is important to keep that in mind. -- Larry Colen l...@red4est.com. sent from Mirkwood -- %(real_name)s Pentax-Discuss Mail List To unsubscribe send an email to pdml-le...@pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.