FIRE

It happened yesterday.  I heard the roar and crackling as I approached the camp.  “That doesn’t sound like a hide-smoking fire.. no.. it’s not.. I sure hope it’s not a structure fire…” It was.

I can still hear the roar when I write this.  And then memory brings back various scenes I’ll keep for a long time.  Flames leaping off the ground where the two wigwams used to be, Tomas and Coyote dousing them with water.  The Heat.  The Smoke.  We are frantic.. now I know what ants feel like when their nests are disturbed.  I join in, first moving as if in slow-motion, then faster as reality sets in.  We call back to each other, shouting directions for where to pour.  “I tried to pull stuff out..!” Coyote says, and then I notice the stuff from inside the lodges scattered all about.  Later I learn that once they realized they couldn’t contain the fire, they pulled out what could be gotten.  “Did you get the plastic box”?!  “No”.  A dread comes over me – most of my savings and documents are in that box.  It’s too hot to get to that area… oh wow…

Then we notice the fire has spread behind the lodges, and moments later the tops of the firs catch fire.  There is a greater need – to contain this, to prevent a forest fire.  I shift focus.  We douse the ground, but can’t reach the treetops.  I try to chop one down, concerned that it might spread farther if it’s standing – the tomahawk flies out of my friends.  Tomas yells “The tops will burn off and then it won’t spread!”  And so it doesn’t.

The heat is less intense now.  We dump on the perimeter, to prevent spreading.  Then Coyote yells in a strange voice which I mistake for a joke at first “the arbor is catching flame!”  There are a few flames and some smoke shooting out of the arbor’s roof in places.  The burning debree has landed in the peat and birchbark..  Coyote hoists me up and hands me buckets.  I throw burning peat off and douse.

And so we continue.  The fire slowly dies.  Then Tomas, looking shaken, speaks of being burned.  On face and arm.  I take a close look – his arm is peeling in a few spots, his face is red, there is some discoloration on the nose.  He goes to cool off in the pond, Coyote continues working on the fire, and I run to Nad’madewining.  “Focus,” I keep on telling myself.. “Focus.”  There is no one in the first house, and no one answers the radio.  I run to the other house, and find a crew of people chopping and stacking firewood.  Rose grabs her medical kit, and she and I head back, others following shortly.

When we get back, Tomas is still in the pond.  As he walks out, we realize he’s hypothermic.  We get him under covers, and over the next few hours Rose monitors his status as he warms up.  His first temperature reading was 93.6  F.  I’m relieved to learn that his burns are minor.  Then the others show up with buckets, and we douse what’s left of the smolder.  In the ashes, there are remnants of molten plastic, scraps of metal, bone, paper.  Later, we put these into the trash.  Once Tomas got better, we walked him out.  Coyote stayed in camp and kept an eye on things for a possible flare-up.  In the evening, it rained.  So hopefully, no remains of heat, and no root fires.

And that’s the story of the fire, still being written.  Everyone is alright.  Tomas got a few minor burns, and he and Coyote got some smoke inhalation.  Apparently, Tomas got burned when he started to pull stuff out – “I looked up and saw flames dropping from the ceiling..”!  They’re drinking Mullein tea.  We’re gradually calming down.  A bunch of things got destroyed – Tomas’s, Chris’s, and mine.  We’re taking stock.  I’m still assessing my damages – looks like they’re not as large as I first thought.  Tomas’s and Coyote’s efforts of pulling things out initially saved quite a bit.  Perhaps the most significant part of this event are the lessons.  To treat fire with respect, to be really careful.  It got started when a spark or a little burning piece fell off a roll of burning birchbark that was being carried to the hidesmoker.  It spread and went up very, very fast.  To rip off pieces of the burning lodge right away (putting water on the bundled grass doesn’t douse the inside – water just sheds); to chop away the neighboring lodges and get them further away.  To not store all possessions in a giant tinder-bundle (a.k.a. a wigwam).

And what now?  Clean up the rubble, and rebuild.  We have a bunch of marsh-grass in bundles (courtesy of last year’s seekers from the yearlong), birchbark, some spruce-root and hide rope.  Might have enough for one lodge.  A big change of plans for everyone.  Personally, this event, where I experienced the loss of many of my possession and money, is bringing to the fore some questions I’ve been sitting with for some time now – who am I?  How do I give of myself?  Where do I go in life?  Dreams have been a great guide.  Last night, the imagery was that of fire.. surprise-surprise!  And the message was one that has become familiar to me – to look deeper, suspend judgement, to be a question.

I’d like to express gratitude to everyone – my campmates, our support circle at Nad’Madewining.  As we worked together, we were One.  And to Brother Fire, and all living things that got damaged or killed in his lesson-giving.  I hope these lessons spread far and wide.

Alex