Hong Kong tree enthusiast on high alert for hill fires on Ching Ming Festival
Paul Melsom, a horticulturist who teaches secondary school students, has planted thousands of trees in a Lantau country park over the decades
For more than 20 years, Paul Melsom has dedicated himself to planting thousands of native trees in Hong Kong’s Lantau North Country Park to enhance biodiversity.
But a hill fire almost two weeks ago saw years of work go up in flames. The blaze burned for more than two hours, leaving about 1,000 trees blackened.
Melsom was on hand to help extinguish some of the smaller flames until a firefighting helicopter arrived.
“It was upsetting to see a lush green forest become like a moonscape,” said Melsom, surrounded by charred trees and with the smell of burnt bark still lingering.
Melsom, who also teaches horticulture to secondary school students and works in landscaping at the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, said he would be on high alert during the Ching Ming Festival on Friday.
Authorities have warned that hill fires are more likely to occur during tomb-sweeping days, such as Ching Ming Festival, as many Hongkongers pay tribute to their ancestors by visiting their graves and burning incense and paper offerings.