May 2024 – Fire and Rain

FIRE

We had a fire on the property in May. We were not in the sanctuary at the time. By the time our caretakers spotted the fire, it had spread to around 1 hectare. It took an hour to put out the fire. Tonji inspected the burnt area the day after the fire. There are paths all over the sanctuary that are supposed to serve as fire breaks. Some of them worked to contain the fire. Unfortunately, some didn’t work.

It was shocking to see the destruction. The ground was covered in black ashes. So many trees were burnt. It was sad to see our favorite paths and walkways wiped out by the fire.

We don’t know what caused the fire. Perhaps a trespasser with cigarette or sparks from a distant fire. We definitely need to upgrade our non-existant fire-fighting equipment and to improve on our fire breaks so that we can better deal with fires in the future.

RAIN

A few days after the fire, the weather made a 180 degree turn and the Philippines had it’s first typhoon of the year! The rain was a relief after the months of intense heat. The timing of it was something else though! We couldn’t help thinking that if the typhoon reached the country a few days earlier, we would have been spared the fire.

A few days after the typhoon, we went to the santuary to see the effect of Typhoon Aghon. Would it be enough to fill up the Big Pond? Tonji told me to wear rubber boots because everything might be wet and muddy.

We inspected the area that was burned in the fire. The ashes from the fire were gone! Even though it didn’t look as bad as it did right after the fire, I was still shocked at how brown and barren the surroundings looked. It didn’t look like our place anymore!

no more ashes

Then we visited the Water Lily Pond. The rain filled up the water lily pond! Whew! So glad to see that the pond survived the summer. It was so painful to see the water plants barely hanging on in a few inches of water. It’s a good thing the plants are able to bounce back after a good rain.

We went to the Big Pond. It wasn’t as muddy as we expected. The boots were overkill! The water level in the Big Pond increased by a lot. But the water still hasn’t reached all the way around the island in the middle of the pond. It also looks like there is some erosion on the banks of the pond.

We survived the hottest summer on record, a fire, and the first typhoon of 2024! What a relief!