Last Thursday, the sky appeared to glow orange on the eastern side of the wetland from the OET station.  When Boa, Daniela, and I went to investigate, we discovered that there was a gigantic ‘natural’ fire sweeping through the decomposing, dry Typha (cattail). I took some poor photographs of the blaze, and then one the next day from the top of a nearby hill.

Although there was lightning striking that night, Mahmood believes that local hunters had illegally started the fire so that when regrowth occurs, they can shoot the deer that come to consume the seedlings and other young plants.  MINAE appears to agree with his hypothesis, since they bulldozed a road to allow fast access to the area with a car, presumably to catch potential poachers.