Hills ablaze

Less than a month after the fire on the hillside above my flat, Thimphu was ablaze again, this time threatening the Fourth King’s palace, and the Queen Great-grandmother’ cottage. According to the Bhutan Observer, a spark from a power line ignited the fire, midday on Thursday. By mid-afternoon, large plumes of smoke billowed above Thimphu, and at nightfall, red flames were visible licking up the hillside.


A friend whose parents live near the Queen Great-mother’s cottage (now something of a museum) was up all night, battling embers that landed in her parents’ orchard and feeding the army and police personnel who fought the fire. She reported that the firefighters had little in the way of firefighting equipment – most used tree branches to bat at the fire – and little protective gear. When the firefighters were replaced with fresh troops, they repaired to local houses for tea and rice.

The next morning, Changangakha Lhakhang, barely a kilometer from my place, was hardly visible through the thick smoke and fog that filled the valley, shrouding the other side of the valley in dense grey.


The prevalence of forest fires, and lack of equipment and technical training in fighting them, got me thinking about the similarities between California and Bhutan. Both places have significant fire seasons in steep, inaccessible terrain, though they occur at nearly opposite times of year. In Bhutan, wildfires break out in the winter, when the days are dry, sunny and windy, and the summer monsoon rains are still months away, as opposed to California’s late summer fire season. I wonder if off-season wildfire fighters from California might be able to provide training and equipment for Bhutan’s fire-fighting forces. It seems that firefighters here have a hard time containing the fires because of a lack of roads and equipment. Thoughts and suggestions are welcomed….