This is about the fires that have been breaking out all over the Malvern hills, putting many lives and property at risk.

It is not unrelated to the fortunes of the people of Treasure Beach, because there are only two working fire trucks in all of St. Elizabeth at the moment. Having to respond to so many fires in one section of the parish therefore means they are unable for deployment to other sections, if required.

http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/hazard-in-the-hills

be careful!!!! cut and burn is dangerous!!! Bulldozing and burning of vegetation is an easy, attractive, quick, lazy, dangerous way to clear land. Farming is good, important, necessary use of land. Please be good stewards of the land, keep yourself and your children and neighbors safe. PLEASE no burning!

I am in Malvern, I came home last night to see a line of fire burning in the field behind my home, could not sleep till i could no longer see any evidence of fire

They set the fire and then leave the field, I don't understand how anyone can do this, it is so dry we haven't had rain in so long

We just need some rain, please

Why would someone set the field on fire on purpose,this is scary in this kind of drought wow

Just to answer your question Malvern resident
This fire was set to clear the field, it is not an uncommon practice here.
Also fires are set to burn rubbish, yep plastic included and yes we have garbage pickup.

Most communities in the US have banned the burning of rubbish and the burning of weeds brush,etc for clearing land, and for very good reasons. Since there are problems in TB getting wata, since there are not enough firetruck and firemen, since the area is in a severe drought, since the burning is often unsupervised and since we ALL need clean air to breathe, please consider banning this burning. as we do have trash pickup in TB, and as there are many unemployed people who would work to clear the land properly, why not stop this unsafe and dirty practice?

Couldn't have said it better guys.

Why do we buy garbage(import) that cannot leave the island? The why's are a never ending tale of legacy! Slash & Burn also a longer tale of agriculture legacy! I went up & saw the blacken acres, once, knowing that there is another way... but it's not my backyard or my production as a farmer who feeds their family!
In my small Jamaican Yard folk want to cut down any little thing that looks green around my trees. Macca,yes, shoot the birds, no; no hurricanes coming our way just a lot of bigga breeze & give thanks ! I can only say stop here in my yard! It takes time for cultural practices to change and us new folk must ease down!
Yes ban BURNING till some rain comes, commonsense! So for now i hide from the dust & Breeze; wake before sunrise to the smell of plastic & spraying of chemicals; before the bigga breeze.
Water my yard! First I water food then flowers! My personal hygiene is also mitigated. Then I move on to my daily intentions. Yet i do not worry of how to send pickings to school in Sept! or pay that loan or what little i have is asked for by another.
Common sense has a variety or reasoning that is very local!

well said jeannie

only wish i had wata for food plants, we are so dry here best we can all do is meditate on rain ... and throw the laundry wata in the yard to try to hold down some dust
every morning i rise and say its gonna rain today, its getting hard to do that and keep faith after saying it for months and months

let it rain any time now....