The Veld Fire

The country of South Africa offers many opportunities to see nature in the raw in its many incredible game reserves and parks, but nothing could have prepared us for the awesome power of a genuine South African “veld fire.”

We were scheduled to spend a relaxing three nights and four days at the Mariya uMama weThemba monastery just outside of Grahamstown. We arrived just after lunch and I immediately took to the comfy bed to enjoy a nap. I awoke a little groggily in time for Vespers. As I made my way from the dormitory to the church, I happened to notice that things were looking a little foggy. I shrugged and thought perhaps rain was in the offing – this part of the country hadn’t had rain in four months. But, just as I was about to enter the chapel, I chanced to look far off to my left and received a shock in the valley below the monastery.

After Vespers, we spent the better part of the next few hours watching the fire gradually develop and consume more and more of the valley below the monastery. We were continually reassured by the fire fighters that the monastery would not be threatened and that in fact they were lighting a “backfire” to prevent the spread. They warned us it would look worse at first but then get much better.

Well, it looked worse all right…and worse…and worse…

The fire had now spread into what could best be referred to as a “lake of fire,” and it began to threaten the hillside that runs up to the monastery. Although we were worried, we saw people working to control the fire and keep it from jumping the pathways up the hillside. This led to an amusing conversation between myself and Sara Shisler of Yale:

Sara – “Umm…guys, the fire is really starting to come towards u

Gates – “Yeah, but the guys in flame retardant suits seem to have it under control. So I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

Sara – “Flame retardant suits?! Do you really think people who are fighting the fire with a pair of pants tied to a stick are wearing flame retardant suits?!”

Sure enough, the weapon of choice for the local fire brigade? A damp pair of pants tied onto a five foot stick. Improbably, the efforts of the fire fighters seemed to be working and coupled with the calm confidence of the monks as to our safety, we all elected to go to sleep around 10.

Fast forward to 1am when a knock came at my door. It was Steve Domienik of EDS reporting, “The fire is coming much closer, we may want to think about getting out of here.”

At this point, we went outside and found that the fire had gone from fascinating event to scary tragedy, and that the efforts of the fire fighters had failed completely. The fire was not more than 10 feet from the monastery chapel itself and moving in. One of the monks was using a garden hose to fight it back. Thus followed a five minute period of shock and confusion in which scenes of devastating California forest fires flashed before our eyes and everyone asked why exactly no one had evacuated us yet.

The monks however remained generally calm in the face of this seemingly inevitable tragedy. They spread out and began to do their part to fight off the flames. We too, spurred on by their example, joined in the fight and soon found our worries drowned out by the effort of fighting the fire. Soon the fourteen or so of us (eight of us and six monks) who were there had a bucket line going on alongside a few people with wet towels who were trying to beat out the fire. We worked for about four hours. The fire gradually surrounded the entire monastery, although thankfully never all at once, so our escape route was always available if necessary.

Our efforts finally concluded around 6am when Vigils was called and we all blearily went to the chapel for some much needed prayers of thanksgiving and deliverance. For once, the usual incense of the monastery chapel was not needed, as each of us was thoroughly smoky from the fire. Although several fires continued to burn around the monastery grounds, we had come to the realization that they would eventually burn themselves out without much risk to any of the buildings.

The monastery was ultimately saved and not damaged – other than torched phone lines and a generally smoky air. However, the fire continued to work its way along the countryside, burning thousands of acres of land and severely damaging farms, a few homes, and a nearby game reserve. The South African Army spent much of the next two days fighting the fires. Our prayers continue to go out to the people who were left without home or livelihood, but we are also grateful that the fire did not do more damage.

It is hard to believe that these fires are actually good for the land. But in fact the fires are not only good, but essential. Many creatures prefer shorter grasses and the burned lands provide them with much needed habitat. Many plants have seeds that are only activated for germination after fires scorch them. We initially saw only the tragedy of the burning, but the monks of Mariya uMama weThemba took the time to explain the good that the fire brought in the face of the horror we saw. For South Africans, these fires are a fact of life. And although a few homes were tragically destroyed, to our knowledge no one was injured.

The fire did leave me with a burning question (if you’ll forgive the pun):

Does God redeem a tragic situation or does God bring about good through imposing suffering?

Peace to all of you and I look forward to getting back to the USA in a few days.

-Gates