A Terrible Fire

John's Mum, Jackie and Stan arrived this evening safe and sound although I couldn't go to the airport to meet them as I was down with Mum staying overnight for her early morning hospital appointment.  What should have been a really happy day was overshadowed by an horrific fire which broke out around lunch time.  We could see and smell the smoke and it looked to be coming from across the valley.  Sadly these fires seem to coincide with hunting and today was a hunting day.  The two photographs in this post were taken just 30 minutes apart.

In no time at all it escalated into something big and we then read a desperate plea from our friend Mina for help as the fire was fast approaching her house and the kennels where she boards other peoples' dogs.  Her house is in the middle of nowhere with a poor road system getting to it.  We learned that her neighbour drove through fire so go and help her.  

Now that the fire is under control (not extinguished) is that it came right up to her house but thankfully she was able to get the dogs out in time and whilst some of the house and garden sustained damage the kennels did not.  She was not the only one to be affected by this terrible event and what is worse it now appears that the fire was set deliberately.  Our thoughts are with everyone involved.  This sort of damage is unimaginable and when your surroundings have been razed to the ground all your years of work get wiped out in an instant possibly never to recover.  It is all very sad.