Yesterday afternoon, I thought I heard the crunch-crunch of a cat eating a mouse downstairs. But nobody had a mouse. The cracking sound was coming from outside.
Maybe Kawasaki-san was doing some brushcutting? I opened the door for a better listen. No…this sounded more organic. A fire popping and cracking. Bamboo burning.
I trotted down the driveway to determine where it was coming from. Not our house. Not the abandoned gate house next door nor the community building at the bottom of the hill.
The neighbor’s driveway was on fire.
It’s noyaki season, when farmers burn their fields in advance of planting. But this wasn’t a field and the flames were pretty big. Had a fire gotten out of control? Was my neighbor okay? Smoke inhalation is a real threat when burning fields. It wasn’t windy, but…
I approached the driveway. My neighbor was standing there with his metal-tined American rake, watching the fire. He was fine. We conversed about the loudness of the bamboo, watched the fire together. The warmth was quite pleasant on the cold day.
The sparks and flames were climbing up to the electrical pole but he wasn’t concerned. He’s an old guy who has clearly been doing this a long time.
I had misgivings, but who am I to suggest he calm the fire down? I wasn’t the only one checking in; Kaori had walked over from Tanada Club. She wasn’t calling the fire department, so it was probably okay. Kaori always seems to know the correct thing to do.
30 minutes later, I heard the broadcast fire alarm. “Waooooh, waooooooh. Oyama area forest fire outbreak.” Maybe the flames had gone out of control after all. Had the pine tree caught fire? I left my desk and went back down the hill to see what was happening.
Honestly, the flames were low and the bank looked more like campfire than a forest fire compared to my first visit. But now there were six fire trucks and dozens of people running around. They extinguished the fire while my neighbour stood there with his rake, still observing it all.
Drama. Nature. People doing their best. I love living here.
