Major forest fires in Portugal 🔥 (PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)

[Doak]

Portugal has suffered a lot this summer with the heat and forest fires, many of them caused by arson. The country itself is already hot, one of the most tropical in Europe, and when summer arrives things get out of hand. The only good part is that we can receive millions of tourists and enjoy the beautiful beaches.

 

However, with the increase in heat, fires also come, some in a "natural" way (through glass or garbage that is in the middle of the bush), some accidentally (like a badly extinguished cigarette thrown into nature or a fire that got out of hand) and others on purpose (people with mental problems who decide to set fires or criminals who are paid to do so, usually with the intention of destroying business or property).

 

In the area where I live there was a big fire this week and everything indicates that it was arson. The fire destroyed many hectares of forest (annihilating innocent animals and burning thousands of trees), ended up with some businesses (such as a car dealership and a small bakery) and consumed some land/housing. Even my wife and I had the fire 2 km from our house, which is close to the mountains. An elderly sibling couple had to be removed from their home. The fire destroyed his backyard and luckily it didn't destroy the house either. Another brother had to be attended to for the nervous problems he felt.

 

However, in the midst of so much evil, I was able to feel the unity of Jehovah's people. Many brothers quickly got in touch with the brothers who had the houses close to the fire (my wife and I included) and provided us with immediate help. My wife and I just grabbed a few basic things and ran away to other brothers' houses. An elder also promptly went to the battlefield to try to save the house of the elderly brothers I mentioned, trying to put out the fire and helping the firefighters. Others went to help cool the forest surrounding the house of some brothers with water so that the fire could not pass through. Through this bad experience I was able to understand which brothers I can count on in the future in any adversity that arises. 😊

 

 

 

[Ludwika]

42 minutes ago, Doak said:

Portugal has suffered a lot this summer with the heat and forest fires, many of them caused by arson. The country itself is already hot, one of the most tropical in Europe, and when summer arrives things get out of hand. The only good part is that we can receive millions of tourists and enjoy the beautiful beaches.

 

However, with the increase in heat, fires also come, some in a "natural" way (through glass or garbage that is in the middle of the bush), some accidentally (like a badly extinguished cigarette thrown into nature or a fire that got out of hand) and others on purpose (people with mental problems who decide to set fires or criminals who are paid to do so, usually with the intention of destroying business or property).

 

In the area where I live there was a big fire this week and everything indicates that it was arson. The fire destroyed many hectares of forest (annihilating innocent animals and burning thousands of trees), ended up with some businesses (such as a car dealership and a small bakery) and consumed some land/housing. Even my wife and I had the fire 2 km from our house, which is close to the mountains. An elderly sibling couple had to be removed from their home. The fire destroyed his backyard and luckily it didn't destroy the house either. Another brother had to be attended to for the nervous problems he felt.

 

However, in the midst of so much evil, I was able to feel the unity of Jehovah's people. Many brothers quickly got in touch with the brothers who had the houses close to the fire (my wife and I included) and provided us with immediate help. My wife and I just grabbed a few basic things and ran away to other brothers' houses. An elder also promptly went to the battlefield to try to save the house of the elderly brothers I mentioned, trying to put out the fire and helping the firefighters. Others went to help cool the forest surrounding the house of some brothers with water so that the fire could not pass through. Through this bad experience I was able to understand which brothers I can count on in the future in any adversity that arises. 😊

 

 

 

Surely " critical times hard to deal with"! Stay safe 💓

[hatcheckgirl]

I’m glad you and your family and the brothers and sisters were spared the worst of it. Fires in bushland in summer are the scariest disaster here in Australia too. We are told to have a plan for escape by the authorities because fires can roar through very quickly. It’s good to hear you had the support of the brothers! Hoping you stay safe.👍

[Lewis]

Daniel, I am glad you are ok and thank you for sharing your experience regarding this massive fire and how everyone worked together to keep safe. Really happy to see that Jehovah’s people have true unity and can depend on each other in these types of disaster situations.

 

 

[Doug]

From one fire evacuee to another - good to know your home wasn't destroyed.   I had to evacuate for 8 days back in 2007 , the Angora Fire in California.

 

This recent evacuation in 2021 involved the entire city and county areas.  The Caldor Fire. The entire congregation had to bug-out.  Some went to stay with family.  Others stayed at hotels.  And others stayed in the homes of brothers who had extra space.

 

Everyone took their pets, of course.  Not always easy to go stay with another family when you have a pet.

 

Neither of these fires were arson, but negligence (stupidity).  Arson fires are deplorable.

 

There is a couple here who lost their home when the entire city of Pioneer, California was razed by a wildland fire.  I don't know if they didn't have insurance, or insufficient insurance, but they ended up living in a travel trailer (RV style) and parked it here.  Then they were visiting family in Peru when covid-19 put a halt to flights and they are still there , I think.  Quite a few years worth of "unexpected events" !

[Sofia]

On 7/16/2022 at 11:17 PM, Doak said:

Portugal has suffered a lot this summer with the heat and forest fires, many of them caused by arson. The country itself is already hot, one of the most tropical in Europe, and when summer arrives things get out of hand. The only good part is that we can receive millions of tourists and enjoy the beautiful beaches.

 

However, with the increase in heat, fires also come, some in a "natural" way (through glass or garbage that is in the middle of the bush), some accidentally (like a badly extinguished cigarette thrown into nature or a fire that got out of hand) and others on purpose (people with mental problems who decide to set fires or criminals who are paid to do so, usually with the intention of destroying business or property).

 

In the area where I live there was a big fire this week and everything indicates that it was arson. The fire destroyed many hectares of forest (annihilating innocent animals and burning thousands of trees), ended up with some businesses (such as a car dealership and a small bakery) and consumed some land/housing. Even my wife and I had the fire 2 km from our house, which is close to the mountains. An elderly sibling couple had to be removed from their home. The fire destroyed his backyard and luckily it didn't destroy the house either. Another brother had to be attended to for the nervous problems he felt.

 

However, in the midst of so much evil, I was able to feel the unity of Jehovah's people. Many brothers quickly got in touch with the brothers who had the houses close to the fire (my wife and I included) and provided us with immediate help. My wife and I just grabbed a few basic things and ran away to other brothers' houses. An elder also promptly went to the battlefield to try to save the house of the elderly brothers I mentioned, trying to put out the fire and helping the firefighters. Others went to help cool the forest surrounding the house of some brothers with water so that the fire could not pass through. Through this bad experience I was able to understand which brothers I can count on in the future in any adversity that arises. 😊

 

 

 

This is so tragic 😢😢🤦‍♀️

[cme]

Its sad to read "I know which brothers to count on".  We are a united brotherhood.  We SHOULD be able to count on ALL our brothers.  But, I guess that would be true in a perfect world not in this one.😒

[Doak]

15 minutes ago, cme said:

Its sad to read "I know which brothers to count on".  We are a united brotherhood.  We SHOULD be able to count on ALL our brothers.  But, I guess that would be true in a perfect world not in this one.😒

Even if we wanted to, unfortunately, we know that we can't count on ALL the brothers. Yes, we can count on the vast majority, but we know that there are some inside who don't make an effort for others. Although this is what we repeatedly hear from the Governing Body. Probably during the great tribulation these same selfish brothers will be the first to depart. At the end of the great tribulation, only the true servants of Jehovah will be left.

[jayrtom]

4 hours ago, Doak said:

Even if we wanted to, unfortunately, we know that we can't count on ALL the brothers. Yes, we can count on the vast majority, but we know that there are some inside who don't make an effort for others. Although this is what we repeatedly hear from the Governing Body. Probably during the great tribulation these same selfish brothers will be the first to depart. At the end of the great tribulation, only the true servants of Jehovah will be left.

I'm sorry to hear what you've been true... I've also had fire right on the corner of my house (a couple of meters) So I know the feeling... I'm glad that all went well

 

I don't know the specifities of your situation but could it be that this "others" didn't make an effort because of lack of "oportunity"? We must think first that if they didn't do much it was because they couldn't. Never should we think that they didn't because they didn't want to make the effort

 

Gal 6:10

"So, then, as long as we have the opportunity, let us work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith."

 

Phi 4:5

"Let your reasonableness become known to all men."

[coolbrz731]

I'm sorry you had to go through that, and I partially understand.  We had a fire come dangerously close to may of our friend's homes in central WA state.  One of our elders even made the local news.  He was older, and you could tell by his walk he had bad knees, but he told the reporter, "I got no problem leaving my material things behind.  If this fire gets any closer, I'll beat you outta here."  Most of the community knew he was a Jehovah's Witness, so it was a good witness about materialism.

 

We also got to see how the brotherhood sprang to action, like you did.  We didn't have to evacuate, because we were on the other side of the river and embers weren't getting close to us yet.  But, the elders told us to not put our phones on silent, and to disable any nighttime mode they might have.  Several of our brothers with animals had theirs evacuated, and those brothers even began helping the neighbors(this is how our elder made the news).  I heard some of the older people had to be told to stand down, because they're already frail in health, and they don't need to rush into choking smoke to help out other friends.  Admittedly, we did have to have a circuit overseer visit us because a few friends refused to leave their homes, and they put their lives in danger.  The fire didn't touch their properties, but, their attitude wasn't right.  Overall it was a positive experience, and once again, I'm happy you came through with encouraging experiences you had.   Hopefully this experience will be a wakeup call for the other friends in your congregation.

Edited August 1, 2022 by coolbrz731

[ladybug]

I am so sorry you had to endure this.  But, thankfully Jehovah provided brothers that you could count on and were there to help.

[Paulo]

This reminded me an experience my wife and I had several years ago, maybe 15 years, I don't recall exactly.

We could not attend our convention so we went up north to a place called Santa Maria da Feira.

That was a summer with many many fires and we saw fires almost everywhere while we were on the road.

There was always at least one visible column of smoke somewhere in most of those 300km kilometers we drove, sometimes we could even see fires beeing fought in the hills.

Even the highway was closed for us for a couple of hours, to be reopened again, and then drive in overspeed behind the police car, seeing the fire licking the road asphalt and feeling the heat from it, and very low visibility.

We still recall waking up in the middle of the night with fire sirens that never stopped to sounding, empty streets and full of smoke like fog. A surreal almost movie like scenario.

 

But what really impressed us was seeing the strenght of our brother and sisters in that convention, many did not know if they would still have a home on their return, as they had the fires around their houses and they just left for the convention.

Overall all it was a very remarkable experience.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Paulo
typo

[jayrtom]

3 hours ago, Paulo said:

This reminded me an experience my wife and I had several years ago, maybe 15 years, I don't recall exactly.

We could not attend our convention so we went up north to a place called Santa Maria da Feira.

That was a summer with many many fires and we saw fires almost everywhere while we were on the road.

There was always at least one visible column of smoke somewhere in most of those 300km kilometers we drove, sometimes we could even see fires beeing fought in the hills.

Even the highway was closed for us for a couple of hours, to be reopened again, and then drive in overspeed behind the police car, seeing the fire licking the road asphalt and feeling the heat from it, and very low visibility.

We still recall waking up in the middle of the night with fire sirens that never stopped to sounding, empty streets and full of smoke like fog. A surreal almost movie like scenario.

 

But what really impressed us was seeing the strenght of our brother and sisters in that convention, many did not know if they would still have a home on their return, as they had the fires around their houses and they just left for the convention.

Overall all it was a very remarkable experience.

Maybe we bounced into each other because at the time that's where we had our conventions on the biggest venue of the country at the time (except soccer fields) Europark

 

If you happen to come around here again give me a buzz

 

[Paulo]

7 hours ago, jayrtom said:

Maybe we bounced into each other because at the time that's where we had our conventions on the biggest venue of the country at the time (except soccer fields) Europark

 

If you happen to come around here again give me a buzz

 

I am sure that we eventually did 😀

And I will sure let you know if I go to that area again 😀