文章内容

Forewords: About 22:30, August 21, 2022, because of high temperatures a wildfire erupted in Hutou Moutain, a section of Jinyun Mountain, near the town of Xiema in Beibei district, Chongqing. The fire epicenter was located in the outer reaches of Jinyun National Nature Reserve, with steep slopes and thick vegetation, the firefight was hard and the situation urgent. All people participated in their own way in the fight against the fire; among them are fire brigades, PLA soldiers, armed police, volunteers and other locals.

The Fire Which Burns Us
  Here is Hutou Mountain, a section of Jinyun Mountain.
  Here you can enjoy towering pines, singing birds, and fragrant flowers, here you can enjoy blinking stars, bright moons, and endless vistas.
  Here you will see bucolic farms, quiet cottages, and babbling brooks, here you can meet cooing chickens, quacking ducks and barking dogs.
  At the edge of the city, Hutou sends down cool breezes and satisfying green.
  Hutou is a vernal haven for the locals of Beibei, a place for hikers on the weekend.
  From an unknown source the sparks jumped, setting the parched forest on fire.
  The flames reached so high, the smoke swirled so wide, the fire shocked the Beibei and Chongqing, and everyone there who loves the mountain.
  The burbling flaming fire, like a knife, stabbed everyone’s heart. The people faced the mountain, the smokes, and the reports on it, sighing and praying.
  The thick smokes floating in the sky choked everyone, as if the smoke had entered our chests, and darkened our hearts.
  The deep blue sky was polluted by one large black piece, which was scorched by the fire, left our hearts atremble!
  Those trees, having been there for decades or centuries, watching over generations of us Beibei people, embedded with our childhood happiness, sending us cool shade and fresh air! But now, they are being burnt after a long scorching drought.
  In every WeChat group I heard calling, crying, recruiting. From midnight to noon, from day to night, this is the only voice: Guard our mountain! Guard our green! Guard our common home!
  
The Heroes Confronting the Fire
  All around the fire burns, burning the withered twigs and leaves. Jumping from the ground to the tree tops, from tree to tree, and from one ridge to another ridge. It was a robber, a bandit, oh no, it was at last a ball of fire rolling in the woods, which must be contained, with extinguishers, spades, sickles, or even our bodies of flesh.
  The fierce flames scorched the people who approached them, turning their complexions from yellow to red, then as black as coal, producing blisters on their hands and feet, chapping their lips, hoarsening their voices and smoking their throats.
  The fire did not stop its rampage at night. The night wind strengthened its force. So we also had to fight with it through the night, with teams of fighter working in alternation.
  At the rest spots I saw professional firemen, Armed Police officers, PLA soldiers, and uniformed volunteers, some are still young kids, their youth evident in their face. Their clothes were colorless, their faces full of smoke and dust.
  They laid flat down on the roadside, against the trees, or beside the trucks...
  No one disturbed them. They were exhausted!
  Lying strewn on the ground, the fighters formed a beautiful scene. Though horizontal on the ground, they were like columns holding up an arch. On their lips I could see smiles, perhaps a dream about their parents, wives or children, or maybe the good news of extinguishing the fire.
  Let them have a good nap within the cool breeze, after that they would go back to the fight!
  The volunteers had prepared everything: Washing water, drinking water, instant noodles, Huoxiang Water, liquid disinfectant, and adhesive bandage...When they woke up, vigorous fighters they would become once again!
  
Observing the Scarred Mountain from Afar
  That is a deep scar in the beautiful Jinyun Mountain!
  From the foot to the top of the mountain, and over the mountain’s big ridge, it extends to the end of the forest.
  I saw the big trees fallen down, the younger ones broken, I saw the color of mud, and the color of the earth.
  The people who cut the trees and the people who dug the road, they are also full of sadness, for they are turning big patches of green into a wasteland.
  But they must do it, even with aching in the heart! They were fighting sadly against themselves!
  The mountain and forest, never disturbed by humans, it is so beautiful a place! But now, they had to break the ground, to stop the fire from spreading.
  Shift by shift, day and night, they pushed through the forest, digging, cutting, with excavators and hatchets. Looking back from the mountain top, they felt both happy and hurt. It’s devastating, but they had to do it.
  They wouldn’t take a break until they were too exhausted; packed food and bottled water are their meals.
  Along the over-50-degree slopes, in the thick forest, an opening 20 meters or more wide was formed after the rage and roar of excavators.
  This is the fire control meridian, a great wall against the wildfire!
  I will keep this photo, both saddening and exciting, and recall the fighters’ sweats and tears, their sadness and happiness, especially, when the green covers the mountain once again.