For me it is still Lent, a time of increased spiritual reflection on my relationship with God, others and our world.

Memories of Fires Past is reflection on the way we humans approach the management of our environment, the biosphere, on which we all depend for life. When we don’t protect it there are immediate impacts on us, the health of others, and on all livings things.

This is an illustrated version of my short story, ‘Memories of Fires Past’. It aims to show common challenges facing the Asia-Pacific, Indo Pacific regions. The impact of wild fire is explored in both Indonesia and Australia. Both of the events were instances of wild fire that I encountered.

In this story I examine fire as problem. The story is born of my direct experience of two major fire events, the Canberra Monaro fire of January, 2003, and the fires in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, during 2015.

The fires in Riau

The fires of 2015 in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, were primarily caused by illegal slash-and-burn practices used for land clearing, particularly for palm oil and pulpwood plantations. The fires exacerbated the region’s annual haze crisis, leading to severe air pollution and environmental degradation. The fires began in mid-2015 during the dry season when landowners and companies set fire to forests and peatlands to clear land for agriculture. However, due to the hot and dry conditions exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon, the fires quickly spread out of control, covering vast areas with thick smoke and haze. The haze from the fires severely affected air quality not only in Riau Province but also in neighbouring areas, including Singapore, Malaysia, and parts of Thailand. The hazardous levels of air pollution caused respiratory problems, eye irritation, and other health issues among millions of people, prompting authorities to issue health advisories and distribute masks to affected populations. The environmental impact of the fires was also extensive. The burning of peatlands released massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change. The fires also destroyed critical habitats for endangered wildlife, including orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and various bird species. Efforts to extinguish the fires proved challenging due to the scale of the disaster and the remote location of many burning areas. Indonesian authorities deployed firefighters, military personnel, and water-bombing aircraft to combat the flames. International assistance was also provided, with neighboring countries sending firefighting teams and equipment to help contain the fires. The Riau Province fires of 2015 highlighted the urgent need for stronger enforcement of environmental regulations, sustainable land management practices, and international cooperation to prevent future fire crises in Indonesia and mitigate the impact of haze on public health and the environment.

The Canberra Monaro Fire

The Canberra Monaro fire was in January 2003 consisted of a series of devastating bushfires that struck the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and surrounding areas, including the Monaro region of New South Wales. The fires started on January 8, 2003, amid extreme heat, dry conditions, and strong winds, creating ideal conditions for the rapid spread of flames. The fires were among the most severe bushfires in Australian history, burning through vast swathes of land and causing significant destruction of property and loss of life. The flames engulfed residential areas, rural communities, and national parks, including parts of Namadgi National Park in the ACT. In Canberra, Australia’s capital city, the fires led to widespread evacuations as neighborhoods came under threat. Several suburbs were directly affected, with homes destroyed and thousands of residents forced to flee. The fires also disrupted essential services, including power and water supplies, and caused extensive damage to infrastructure. Tragically, the fires claimed the lives of four people, including a volunteer firefighter. Many others suffered injuries, and countless animals were killed or displaced as a result of the inferno.

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The fires of Canberra Monaro, and Riau Province, are both well documented and most familiar to me. Rather than that extract passages from my writing, or from other published sources, I used Chat GPT to generate the text in these sections.