The mountain is burning!
That's what I used to tell my children as I watched our Rancho Grande National Park burn on several sides.
The orange-colored flames are rising, sweeping everything in their path. An orange glow is seen in the distance. The animals try to flee, some succeed. The plants have no choice but to resist, their leaves are the first to burn, then the branches and finally the trunks of the big trees, which, blackened, still stand upright.
From the balcony of our apartment we watch this Dantesque spectacle night after night during the dry months, helpless and saddened.
My sixteen-year-old daughter made a decision one day.
"Mom!, I want to do something to help fight the fires. There is a group of Volunteer Forest Firefighters and I want to go in there. I need your permission because I am a minor".
Even though I thought about how dangerous forest fires are and knew about the deaths of firefighters while fighting fires, I gave her my support. I saw the determination and security in the look on her freckled face, and I accompanied her to the place where the brigade was meeting.
We arrived at the apamate park and sat down to wait on a bench at the edge of a path. People were jogging by, perhaps oblivious to the tragedy that was occurring on the mountain, even as gray smoke covered the city and ashes were being blown by the wind. They could be seen where we were, on the pavement, on top of the vegetation, in the air.
The young firemen were arriving, some of them looked too young for such a big responsibility, dressed in white flannel with the Brigade's badge, their navy blue pants and their black boots, some with worn and patched soles.
The captain, a man of about 40 years old, introduced himself and my daughter told him that she wanted to belong to the brigade. I signed the authorization form, and she was formally enrolled.
And from that moment on she began to receive the necessary preparation to be a forest firefighter, she already had the enthusiasm and the heart.
One day she came to the house wearing a yellow jacket, a red helmet and black boots.
"Mommy, tomorrow we are going to fight a fire in the mountains".
"But my child!, you haven't had much time to prepare".
"But that's where I can learn, Mommy, don't worry."
And from that moment on there were hours day and night dedicated to help. Sometimes she did not return home but stayed at the headquarters.
But there were difficult and distressing situations in which the risk was great because the fire could change direction in an instant.
The fire had spread to a large area of the mountain, several groups were there trying to control it, but the number of firefighters and the tools at their disposal were not enough.
I was watching the news, my daughter and many young volunteers were there fighting the fire with very few resources.
My daughter arrived the next day with her uniform full of smut, her boots with broken soles, her face black with smut, sweaty and tired.
She threw herself on the furniture and took off her coat and boots.
"Daughter, how was that? Did you manage to control the fire?"
"Ay mommy!, that was very rough, but we got it under control. A smile of satisfaction appeared on her face, although there was also sadness in her eyes for the devastated nature".
I'll tell you that we were very close to burning alive. As he spoke to me, she opened her eyes and leaned forward.
"Daughter, don't tell me that". I felt my heart in my mouth.
"We climbed to a very high and steep part, and there the captain told us to separate in pairs. We were a group of twelve people. I was assigned with Negra, the second in command of the brigade, because of her greater experience. We separated a little from the other groups and began to attack the fire here and there with the racks, it was very hot. My face was red and burning".
"How scared you must have been"
"At that moment we saw a dark cloud coming closer and closer and then we could see nothing. La Negra turned around and yelled at me to get down on the ground as close as possible with my arms covering my head, and she got on top of me to protect me. I thought at that moment that we were going to die. The fire passed over us and the heat increased, but it didn't touch us. . It was as if someone had protected us".
That was not the only time my daughter escaped from getting burned. And she was saved from serious damage by the skin of my teeth.
Another time she told me that she had gone up the mountain with her group, and at one moment the wind direction changed, and the flames came towards them, and they were very high. They saw down the mountain some very big rocks, and they ran to protect themselves and fell into a hole and he was saved from serious damage
"Mommy at that moment I felt that that was as far as my life would go because the fire passed over us, and it was very hot. We had narrowly escaped".
My daughter continued to belong to the Volunteer Forestry Brigade for two more years until she made the decision to leave the country. During that time she was always willing to go to the mountains to help control fires, with a great vocation, out of love, like all firefighters who risk their lives to preserve nature.
Salvada del fuego
¡La montaña se está quemando!
Esa era lo que yo le decía a mis hijos al ver a nuestro parque nacional Rancho Grande arder por varios costados.
Las llamas de color naranja ascienden arrasando todo a su paso. Un resplandor anaranjado se observa a lo lejos. Los animales tratan de huir; algunos lo logran. A las plantas no les queda otra alternativa que resistir. Sus hojas son las primeras en quemarse, luego las ramas y, por último, el tronco de los grandes árboles, que ennegrecido aún se mantiene erguido.
Desde el balcón de nuestro apartamento vemos ese dantesco espectáculo noche tras noche durante los meses de sequía, impotentes y con tristeza.
Mi hija de dieciséis años tomó un día una decisión.
"Mamá quiero hacer algo para ayudar a combatir los incendios. Hay un grupo de Bomberos Forestales Voluntarios y deseo entrar allí. Necesito tu permiso porque soy menor de edad".
Aun cuando pensé en lo peligrosos que son los incendios forestales y sabía de la muerte de bomberos mientras estaban combatiendo el fuego, le di mi apoyo. Vi la decisión y seguridad en la mirada en su rostro pecoso y la acompañé al lugar donde se reunía la brigada.
Llegamos al parque de los apamates y nos sentamos a esperar en un banco al borde de una caminería. Las personas pasaban trotando, quizás ajenas a la tragedia que estaba ocurriendo en la montaña, aun cuando el humo gris cubría la ciudad y las cenizas eran esparcidas por el viento. Se podían ver allí donde estábamos, sobre el pavimento, encima de la vegetación, en el aire.
Fueron llegando los jóvenes bomberos, algunos parecían muy niños para tan grande responsabilidad, vestidos con franela blanca con el distintivo de la Brigada, su pantalón azul marino y sus botas negras, algunas con las suelas desgastadas y remendadas.
El capitán, un hombre de aproximadamente 40 años, se presentó y mi hija le dijo que ella quería pertenecer a la brigada. Yo le firmé la planilla de autorización y quedó formalmente inscrita.
Y desde ese momento comenzó a recibir la preparación necesaria para ser una bombera forestal, ya el entusiasmo y el corazón lo tenían.
Un día llegó a la casa con un chaquetón amarillo, un casco rojo y unas botas negras.
"Mami, mañana vamos a combatir el incendio en la montaña"
"Pero, hija, sí has tenido poco tiempo de preparación".
"Pero es que allí es donde puedo aprender, mami, no te vayas a preocupar".
Y desde ese momento fueron horas, día y noche, dedicadas a ayudar. A veces no regresaba a la casa, sino que se quedaba en la sede.
Pero había situaciones difíciles y angustiosas en las que el riesgo era grande, porque el fuego puede cambiar de dirección en un instante.
El incendio se había propagado a un área grande de la montaña, varios grupos estaban allí tratando de controlarlo, pero el número de bomberos y las herramientas de que disponían no eran suficientes.
Yo estaba pendiente de las noticias, mi hija y muchos jóvenes voluntarios estaban allí luchando contra el fuego y con muy pocos recursos.
Mi hija llegó al día siguiente con el uniforme lleno de tizne, las botas con la suela rota, su cara negra de tizne, sudada y cansada.
Se lanzó en el mueble y se quitó el chaquetón y las botas.
"¿Hija, cómo estuvo eso? ¿Lograron controlar el incendio?"
"¡Ay, mamita, eso estuvo muy rudo, pero sí lo controlamos!" Una sonrisa de satisfacción se dibujó en su cara, aunque también había tristeza en sus ojos por la naturaleza devastada.
"Te cuento que estuvimos muy cerca de quemarnos vivos". Mientras me hablaba, abrió sus ojos y se inclinó hacia adelante.
"Hija!, no me digas eso". Yo sentía el corazón en la boca.
"Subimos a una parte muy alta y escarpada y allí el capitán nos dijo que nos separáramos en pareja. Éramos un grupo de doce personas. A mí me asignaron con la Negra, la segunda al mando de la brigada, por su mayor experiencia. Nos separamos un poco de los otros grupos y empezamos a atacar el fuego por aquí y por allá con los bastidores; hacía mucho calor. Yo sentía la cara roja y me ardía".
"Que miedo debiste sentir"
"En ese momento vimos una nube oscura que se iba acercando y luego no se veía nada. La negra volteó y me gritó que me tirara al suelo lo más pegada posible con los brazos cubriéndome la cabeza y ella se puso encima de mí para protegerme. Yo pensé en ese momento que íbamos a morir. El fuego nos pasó por encima y el calor aumentó, pero no nos tocó. Fue como si alguien nos hubieran protegido.
Esa no fue la única vez en que mi hija escapó de quemarse. Pudo escapar de sufrir daños graves por poco.
En otra oportunidad me contó que había subido a la montaña con su grupo, y en un momento la dirección del viento cambió y las llamas se vinieron hacia donde estaban ellos y eran muy altas. Vieron hacia abajo de la montaña unas rocas muy grandes y corrieron para protegerse y cayeron en un hueco.
"Mami, en ese momento sentí que hasta allí quedaría mi vida porque el fuego nos pasó por encima y se sentía mucho calor. Nos habíamos salvado por un pelo"
Mi hija continúa perteneciendo a la Brigada Forestal Voluntaria durante dos años más hasta que tomó la decisión de irse del país. Durante ese tiempo siempre estuvo dispuesta a ir a la montaña para ayudar a controlar los incendios, con una gran vocación, por amor, como todos los bomberos que arriesgan su vida, para preservar la naturaleza.
Traducido al ingles en www.deepl.com
I can't believe you let your daughter join the volunteer firefighters at such a young age. I know she has a big heart, but that must have been so scary for you as a mom. I'm glad she's safe and sound, even if she had a few close calls with those raging wildfires. You raised one amazing young woman who made a difference in the world.
Hi @iskawrites
As a mother it was a difficult decision because of the protective instinct. But my daughter despite her age was very sure of what she wanted to do.
Thank you very much for your comment, it made me happy.
Fighting fires is dangerous. We know that objectively. What you do in this story is give us a subjective sense of the fire. Your daughter's experience when La Negra shielded her body is described vividly. We can imagine ourselves in that smokey, hot forest.
It is true that your daughter took great risks in fighting the fire, but she tempered herself to challenges in the future by doing so. Running from danger, and risk, can be a lifetime habit. Your daughter will never develop that habit. She will have the courage to face the dangers that will surely arise over her lifetime.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us, @popurri. It was a pleasure to 'meet' your daughter.
Hello @theinkwell.
That experience was a great learning experience for her.
My daughter was very touched and honored when she read your comment, thank you so much.
Happy night 🌌
Even though you know the firefighter as a professional is delicate, you still allow your daughter to go ahead and pursue her choice. I must say your kind is rare. You do advise her on what to do and how to stay safe.
Hello @toluwani special
In my family there are many such species, my oldest sister was a professional firefighter for many years and my oldest daughter is a Red Cross rescuer. I think that vocation is in their blood.
Thank you very much for your comment