bogwitch

It's still a big fire. You don't have quite the whizz-bang technology the Beeb has. Good pics.

They were quite a bit nearer too. You can't get to that place now. Also, their pic I believe was taken in daylight (or just before sunrise)

Yes, I believe they have some folk living in Hemel who got there before the authorities cordoned everything off.

I hate fire. I mean really

Me like it. Flamey!

Tree bad, fire pretty?

Bloody hell. It looks like the Blitz.

Good photos

I was a fair way away too. I almost bought a flat in that part of town.

That is a big fire. Fire pretty but bad! Good pictures!

Makes a change for something to happen in this town.

Damn! This looks like a bombing!

Could be, but I doubt it.

I first learned about the fire on my local news channel over here (in Texas) tonight, and nearly dropped my teeth when I saw the name "Hemel" pop up on the screen! My first thought was, "Is that Bogwitch's neighborhood?" I was so relieved when they said that no one had been killed.

Poor Hemel is famous! Luckily, there's no problems this side of own.

Wow. Scary. Be glad you can't smell anything. That kind of smell makes you feel sick real fast.

Yeah. Now I can see the smoke, its blowing in the other direction. We send our crud to other towns instead. :D

Oi! *says she whose ickle town is starting to smell like a motorway*

:D

I haven't smelt a thing!

Injustice is what it is. ;)

Pity your current work place is so near - the big pink glow is rather pretty! Kinda makes you want to turn up with potatoes and marshmallow, but I think they would end up tasting horrible.

I discovered after I posted this, that I can actualy see the glow of the fire and the really high flames from my flat.

At the moment there is a plume of black smoke billowing across the horizon which I couldn't see in the dark.

Oh nasty!

See, you should have waited a week or so to do your wild_photos ;)

Yes! I wish I'd taken a pic of the depot for a before and after comparsion. When things die down a bit, I'll see if I can get some damage photos.

Ah the advantages of hind-sight! ;)

Now you stay indoors and keep the windows closed, do you hear!

What! When I can go out and gawp?

The wind is blowing the smoke in the other direction. I'm pretty good here.

The sky is an amazing colour isn't it? So beautiful and yet so dangerous

You should have seen it from my bedroom. I could lie on the bed and watch the red glow pulsing over the hill. If the flames got really high, I could just about see them.

I have a pic of the column of smoke from this morning, but my internet connection is really intermittant at the moment, as NTL is my ISP as well and their building is really close to the fire (the TV is completely out still. I'm lucky to have a connection at all).

That's one big fire.

Shame I never saw it at it best.

Glad to see you back.

It looks sort of like you're living on a Hellmouth. :-)

I've always suspected.

I can't help contrasting with your "Where I Live Day" post. I thought these were great pics.

Eek! And I forgot to say I stopped by your LJ to make sure you were safe. Glad you are!

Thank you. The trading estate had a very lucky escape. If it's been during a working day, this could have been carnage (and I'd been in the middle of it).

I'm kicking myself for not taking a few pics of the depot before it blew. I always used the lane beside it as a short cut (and always wondered what it'd be like if it blew...)

I didn't watch any news over the weekend, but am glad to know you are safe now that I've heard about the fire.

Hee. This town had never been so exciting!

Good pics; I know how hard it is to get pictures at a nighttime fire.
There's something beautiful and mesmerizing about fire, even at its most destructive, that can't be denied. That's why firefighters often feel a duel nature -- they learn to hate fire, and yet they're drawn to it at the same time. Especially the old timers learn how awful fire is, but if there's going to be one, they want to be there to fight it.

Absolutely. You couldn't keep your eyes off this thing (very distracting when driving!)

Considering the scale and uniqueness of it, the firefighters have done an amazing job.

I get that way whenever I see a column of smoke -- have to be very careful I don't run into a tree!
And you're right, the difficulties of fighting a fire of that size are amazing. Most people never really understand just how much is involved.

It has annoyed me a bit that the firefighter's union has been criticising the effort being unprepared while trying to get more funding from the government. All it's achieved is to belittle the efforts of their own members. They may well be right in the long run, but now wasn't the time to say such things.

I've found that unions these days tend to hurt their members more than they help them. there was a time when that wasn't true -- in fact, there was a time when unions did tremendous good for workers. But it seems, like many organizations, they've gotten greedy, and lost their focus on their original purpose, as they aged.