After the heat came the Fire
Column February 2019
Since the beginning of the school year at the end of January, I have been a Year 13 which is the last year of high school in NZ. That’s why we were asked to welcome the new Year 9 students to Waimea College and show them around the campus.
School didn’t properly start before week two. Yet, this isn’t really telling the truth, because we had three days off during that week. Waitangi Day, which is celebrated on February 6th, is New Zealand’s national holiday. It commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, probably the most important document between the indigenous Maori and the British, which placed New Zealand under the care of the British Crown in 1840. On that day I visited a food festival with my host family at the Founders Park, a theme park about the history of Nelson and NZ. There were food trucks from all over the world and of course some Maori performances. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any fireworks, because the day before a devastating forest fire had broken out not far from Nelson. Two months of drought and heat had definitely left their mark. Sprouting meadows and fields were completely dried up.
On my way home from the beach I looked out of the bus window. All of a sudden, I noticed a large column of smoke towards Richmond, where I live. It rose vertically into the sky and let a bad feeling rise up in me. When I got home, I was quite relieved. The fire was burning a few kilometres further south. The clouds of smoke that passed high above the roofs concealed the sun and let its diffuse light shimmer though with a red tint.
The big fire resulted in the evacuation of 3000 people living right next to the 2300 hectares of burning forest. Dozens of helicopters, many firefighters and the military fought against the flames. Everyone was noticeably tense, as the dry climate could cause another fire to break out at any time. Which actually happened when some idiots purposely set fire on some trees close to the town centre. These fires were fortunately under control quite quickly. After about a week of intensive extinguishing work, the main fire could also be tamed. Due to all the exertions, however, water is slowly becoming scarce in the region. This led to the declaration of water shortage emergency. The schools, for example, were asked to reduce their water consumption by at least 25 percent.
Finally, normal school life could begin. The following week the annual sports day took place. At Waimea College there are four different houses that compete in different competitions during the year. On that day I didn’t have to wear uniform, but I had to show up in the colour that representing my house, green. After the all the drama caused by the horrific fires we enjoyed a fun day.
