Original watercolour painting

This is not the face of defeat. It is the face of someone who has given everything to hold the line. Only those who have faced the heat – wind whipped into fury, smoke thick in their lungs, eyes burning, hands blistered – can understand what it means to sit, silent, on scorched earth afterward.

To our firefighters: we see your courage, your fatigue, your humanity.

Respect begins long before the flames appear. Firebreaks and proper land care can save lives.

Please do not light fires in unsafe conditions. Please do not toss cigarettes or glass bottles into dry grass. Small careless acts may cause immense loss.

Dedicated to lives lost in runaway fires.

_{All images © Lani Fowles – myartwork.co.za. Thank you for respecting the artist’s rights.}