Charli from Carrot Ranch’s 99-word flash fiction challenge this week is: August 6, 2020, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about molten lava. It can be real-time, such as a volcanic event or the result of one in the geologic timeline. Or, think about making the prompt into a metaphor of heat. What is so hot? Go where the prompt leads!
Firestorm
The dust storm distracted the authorities from the wildfire. No one realised, until it was to late, that it had developed into a firestorm, creating its own fire-induced winds which spread the blaze faster. Smaller fires started on the outskirts of the town as a result of firestorm induced spotting and lightning strikes. The winds spread the blaze and the change in the wind caused by the reduction in temperature from the dust storm, activated the sides of the main fire and the smaller ones, making them broader and bigger. It swept through the town, destroying everything and everyone.
You can join in this challenge here: https://carrotranch.com/2020/08/06/august-6-flash-fiction-challenge-2/
roberta-writes.com 
A sobering flash fiction story! Well done.
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It is sobering, Priscilla, because it is based on real facts.
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Perfect story for that picture. Dark and miserable.
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Thank you, Jacqui. It is based on true facts, unfortunately.
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Powerful, vivid use of 99 words Robbie!
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Thanks, John. I was writing a cli-fi book before lockdown. It will require some effort to update now with C-19.
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Devestating ending . . .
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Sorry, Liz. I’m not sure if I’m ever going to finish the novel I started last year. It’s a cli-fi and will require some tweaking now with C-19.
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You’ll know when the time is right to pick it back up again.
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Is it ok to ask if you’re feeling well? That was really dark!
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Hi Clive, yes, quite well. It is based on a chapter form a new cli-fi book I’m working on. The weather forecast is quite dark in this book, but it does get better going forward.
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Glad to hear it – you had me worried for a moment there 😂
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Well done! That felt real.
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Thank you!
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Sounds like an Australian summer 😦
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Yes, it is based in Australia
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So tragic. Very evocative, Robbie.
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Thank you, Staci. A very sad situation with these firestorms.
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I love the way you wrote this.
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Thank you, Jude.
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My pleasure 🌼
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Ewww! In a good way. I was swept along.
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Thank you, Annette. Fires are very scary. I’ve been in a few.
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Sounds like too many scenes from the past few years. (K)
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Hi Kerfe, yes, it is based on facts. It was put together form my notes for a cli-fi book I am writing.
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A bit of chilling flash-fiction, Robbie! Well-done!
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Thank you, Jan. Based on facts, unfortunately.
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Nature is fierce 💜
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It really is, Willow. We have fires here in SA, and very fierce thunderstorms. They seem to get worse by the year.
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Strange isn’t it, I am not sure what is happening to the world 💜
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Chilling, Robbie and all to true. Made me think of what happened to the town, Paradise.
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These firestorms are becoming a horrendous reality in our lives. We had terrible fires in Knysna in South Africa a few years ago. So awful and so much damage.
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They are terrifying and I live in an area of very high fire danger. We are one of the few lucky ones that home owners insurance didn’t drop us.
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Oh my, that is a thought, Denise. It’s not bad here in Johannesburg. Cape Town gets these wildfires.
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Roaring infernos, like those types of fires, are uncontrollable. Well written, Robbie
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Yes, we have fire issues here, but nothing like these firestorms they get in Australia. Now, with C-19 it is easy to forget the terrible fires this continent suffered in January this year.
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Wow, I thought it was Paradise, CA. What a frightening experience. Your story made it so real. Very good writing.
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Thanks Marsha, these are real facts from my notes for a cli-fi book I was writing before C-19 hit.
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What is di-fi? Did you quit writing it? It sounds like it is going to be an exciting and dramatic book.
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Haha, cli-fi is terminology I picked up in the blogosphere – it means climate change science fiction. I got side tracked with my nearly finished historical supernatural novel, A Ghost and His Gold and then C-19 struct and now it requires a revamp because it is futuristic but not to much into the future.
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I admire you. I can barely keep track of fiction I write in real time and space, let alone adding another few dimensions. Whew! You should have a strong brain until you are into your 100s. 🙂
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The speed in which a firestorm develops is terrifying. You caught that natural horror well in your flash, Robbie.
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Thank you, Charli. I have been researching these and also the cold waves that are happening in the USA and GErmany.
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Your piece reminded me of “Centralia (which) is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population has dwindled from more than 1,000 residents in 1980 to 63 by 1990, to only five in 2017—a result of the coal mine fire which has been burning beneath the borough since 1962.”
Facts can be sobering… One can only hope to learn from them.
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So much destruction! We have wildfires every year. It hasn’t started yet. It’s usually caused by the hot, dry strong wind. Well written flash, Robbie!
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Thank you, Miriam. I know that some parts of the USA also have these fires, but I think the Australian ones are the worst in the world.
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I think so, Robbie. Australia doesn’t have enough rain. It makes the air dry. When the wildfire starts, it spreads faster.
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Yes, I agree. I must be honest, I wouldn’t want to live there. I find South Africa’s climate hot and dry and would rather live in a rainy climate like the UK.
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I was used to the rain in Hong Kong.
We lived in a dry area for a few years. The hot air made me have a bloody nose.
I hope when time comes, you’ll move to the UK.
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Thank you, Miriam. I also get bloody noses. It’s been a real problem for me for the past month.
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The weather is strange. It was 99F here yesterday at 7 pm. I sometimes use humidifier in the house.
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We also used to do that, Miriam. Then Michael’s doctor said we should use it so I stopped. I like it for my eyes as they get very dry.
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Oh wow. I remember driving out west and there were warnings that any sort of friction off the road – such as driving your car in the grass – could cause wildfires. It was dry out there, and I could see something like this happening as a result.
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HI H. Yes, we have some problems here but no where near as bad as Australia and some parts of the US. I am very fearful of fires.
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Thank you, Peter.
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