Where there's smoke there is ... FIRE !!!

Growing up on the slopes of a mountain, we were always aware of fires. The neighbourhood (well at least our road) would all come out and watch the smoke, the fire, the wind and be prepared if it comes too close. I've been through 2 evacuations .. one when I was young, and barely remember the details, and again when I was at high school. We'd always move our car a few blocks down the road, so that we could leave. Daddy always insisted the only things we take with are our school books !! Each and EVERY one ! (Isn't that what you would want must burn at that age ? )

This summer we've had many fires in the province and even though they are far away we could smell it so strongly. So last night when we smelled it, we weren't concerned, we didn't even check it out. Around 11pm my dad called. He could see smoke in the air. He is ALWAYS concerned and needs to know all the info before he can rest. At first DH didn't take it seriously, saw some smoke, but figured it was on the other side. Then daddy called again ..... and when he does that, there is major concern! I felt choked, so insisted DH at least locate the source. The fire was about 10 min away from us and the strong winds made it move ... erm ... like wild fire ;-p .... it seemed out of control. There wasn't much choice - we had to get the kids away. We packed up : school things first of course - thank goodness she's in Grade R - there's only one book!, uniform, clothing and hard-to-replace-documents like IDs, passports, bank details... ooh and whatever cash we had. It's a difficult thing to decide what goes .... or what stays .... but it makes you realise that pretty much everything can be replaced and of the things that cannot, the most important is your family!

Daddy had his own adventure: after moving he car to his spot down the road, the fire had jumped and was burning across the road from his house -so they had to leave immediately.

Neighbours who stayed a bit longer, found themselves evacuated an hour later due to the thick smoke. A palm tree in the road caught fire (good thing we cut ours down), and the sparks caused bounced to the next house!

When we returned home, thick smoke still filled the air, and the house. Soot came though every door crack and vent .... and we had left the bathroom window open, so everything was covered in BLACK!

To this, there is only one thing that anyone can say : Algamdulillah !