As dry, windy weather conditions prevail, a number of fires have been raginging various sections of the island.

Last week, huge bush fires raged in the farming belt of southern Jamaica, scorching acres of land at Lacovia, Top Hill, Ridge and other communities in the parish of St Elizabeth and Downs in Manchester.

Other fires also raged along the Ballards Valley main roads in St Elizabeth and in several parts of neighbouring Manchester. On Good Friday, white smoke could be seen billowing upward from two fires which burnt at inaccessible sections of the Spur Tree Hills in Manchester, and yesterday fire fighters were battling to bring under control a fire which has been burning for days in Jacks Hill, St Andrew.

In Top Hill, Ridge and surrounding districts, the fire that scorched the hundreds of acres of hilly terrain caused many anxious moments, residents say. The blaze raced through hundreds of acres of woodland and farm lands, increasing fears of more hardship among farmers in this drought-stricken area.

Residents claim the fire was sparked by Jamaica Public Company Power lines which collided as high gusts of wind fanned the flames.

“Two light wire touch when the breeze blow and the spark catch the dry bush near a man house,” said a woman who appeared shaken by the incident. “By time you squint the whole hill a burn down and a whole heap a people panic.”

According to the residents, even though the heat was unbearable they rallied together and tried to beat back the blaze to save each others’ homes from being razed. The battle against the blaze went on for hours without adequate water or the help of a woefully under-resourced fire brigade, the residents complain.

“Everybody just get busy and t’rough we nuh have no water, we have to beat it back. The whole hill red and it well hot but it could be worse,” the woman said.

The loss was heavy. Cows, goats and various crops were also burn to a crisp in the infernos which miraculously, caused no loss of human life.

“The amount a cow and goat and people garden weh burn up, we can’t even start count,” a man who gave his name only as Sherman said, “The fire burn till it burn out.”

The fire left in its wake a blackened hillside. The heat coming from the parched earth served as a reminder of the raging forest fire. A few trees managed to remain standing, while all that were left of others were charred stumps. The devastation caused by the fire could be seen on the charred hillside for miles on end.

At Top Hill, the fires caused anxious moments for the Maranatha School for the Deaf, home to children and adults with hearing and speech impediments. Tragedy was avoided after school staff and community members fought the blaze and beat it back into the hills. The hillside was burnt only metres from a building to the rear of the school compound.

Last Thursday night, the entire community of Downs in Manchester was also in panic. Fire of undetermined origin razed a section of land in that community and threatened to burn several houses. The residents of that district say they battled with the blaze for hours before a truck from the Junction Fire Station and another from the Alpart Mining Company came to the rescue.

“We all were fretting because the fire was spreading so quickly and some people home nearly burn down. We call the fire brigade but them take long to come,” Teneisha McKenzie, a resident of Downs, said. “The people started to use green bush and other things to fight the fire.”

In Lacovia, St Elizabeth, angry residents complained that the fire fighters never turned up, leaving them to put out the blaze on their own.

But the fire fighters countered that they were overwhelmed by the number of bush fires which were burning at this time.

“There are two other bush fires out there. Yes we have heard about the fire in Downs,” a spokeswoman at the Jamaica Fire Brigade headquarters in Kingston said by telephone Thursday night. “We are trying our best but fires are starting all over the place.”

The farmers of southern Jamaica have been coming in for a hard time from natural disasters since last July when hundreds of acres of ground provisions and many homes were destroyed by the gale force winds and flood waters of Hurricane Charley. As soon as the farmers began to rebuild their homes and replant their crops, the category four Hurricane Ivan struck in September.

In February, a massive fire blazed in the district of Woodside in St Elizabeth, destroying more than 120 acres of crops valued at over $10 million.

The fire started 10 days before in the Trial area but spread to the Lovers Leap, Ballards Valley, Yardley Chase and Woodside districts, severely crippling the livelihood of the residents of these communities. The districts of Bull Savannah and Mitcham were also affected by the blaze.

Some persons were of the view that the fires were being lit by unscrupulous persons.

“Somebody a light the fire yah sah. All the while we have drought and them whole heap a fire yah never blaze up so yet. Me feel a somebody light it,” said an elderly man who carried a large basket of thyme atop his head.