The quick action of Nick helped five people escape a fire on Hope Road. Nick said he usually left his house about 5:30 a.m. to do morning exercises, but that day he decided to stay at home to get his daughter ready for school. As he looked at his neighbor’s house, he realized that it was on fire. “I saw smoke and flames and ran over and started beating on the side of the house shouting, ‘Your house is on fire! Your house is on fire!’” Nick remembered it was at about 9 a.m. that the firefighters put out the fire.

Beverly Penny and her husband, Clark, along with their younger daughters, were sleeping in the living room, next to the kitchen, when they heard Nick beating on the walls. She opened the bedroom door and black smoke came in. She managed to get her kids out. Her dog tried to hide under the bed, but Penny caught it by the leg and threw it out of the door. However, chickens in one of the rooms weren’t so lucky.

Firefighters got the call at about 7:05 a.m. “When we arrived with our fire trucks, there were heavy flames outside on the house,” Jerry said. He called Nick a hero, saying that without his quick responses(回应) the result could have been much worse. “The firefighters were fast,” Nick said. “They arrived here within about three minutes.”

“They did a great job, and I can’t thank them enough,” Penny said, then looked at what remained in the house and shook her head as tears rolled down in her eyes. “Everything I have is gone. Luckily nobody was hurt in the fire.” She said the fire could have been caused by an electrical problem. “We’ve been having problems with mice, so that we could have had something to do with it,” she added.

Several big wildfires have been brought under control in Chongqing with the help of local motorcyclists. The city government has called for volunteers to join in the tough firefighting, and a large number of motorcyclists have played an important role and won widespread praise.

According to the city emergency management bureau on Wednesday, wildfires in Chongqing’s Dazu and Tongliang districts have been brought under control, and other fires-in Fuling, Kaizhou and Wanzhou districts-have been extinguished (熄灭).

The local government mobilized 1, 152 emergency rescue workers and four helicopters to put out the fires in the city’s Beibei district and evacuated (疏散) 46 people to safety shelters.

“It is my honor and duty to guard my hometown, ” said 27-year-old Li Xin, owner of Yueqi Motorcycle Club. On Sunday night, upon hearing the fire breakout, Li organized a team of 15 club members to sign up to support firefighting in Beibei’s Xiema county, the center of the local blazes.

The team members, with an average age of 29, took turns using five dirt bikes and four road bikes to carry materials and equipment to firefighters and to transport people and necessities.

“The unpaved mountain paths and newly dug fire barriers require really good motorcycle skills, ” Li said, adding that even the best motorcyclist on the team might lose his balance and fall as he carried heavy materials and equipment in a large farmer’s back-basket. He said that to prevent heatstroke in the extreme outdoor heat, the team gave up dressing in thick riding suits. They also joined in cutting wood and putting out fires, working more than 12 hours a day on average. “We will stick to the site until the fire is out, ” he added.

In the extreme heat and drought (干旱) conditions, motorcyclists have been devoted to fighting against fires.

It took me a moment to realize what had happened. Three days had passed and Rita seemed to get weaker and weaker. The rain had stopped. However, the sky was still cloudy, and it was so dark that I couldn’t see the buildings even across the road. I took a pressure reading from the weather station: 947mb, which let me know exactly where I was—in the eye of the storm.

There were rains and winds still, but not oppressive (难以忍受的)anymore. There was still no power, hot water or food. Besides, I didn’t sleep well for all these days, but I felt more relaxed since the weather report said Rita was leaving. What’s more, I was luckier than those people who had lost their homes or even worse, lost their lives because of Rita.

As I travelled further to the west, going after the storm, the damage along the way became less severe. I arrived in Houston after a tricky journey with my fuel supplies almost all gone. However, I came across another storm chaser (追逐者) who had 45 gallons of petrol. He helped me and we shared our working experience these days. With a complete stroke of luck I found a run-down hotel that allowed me to have a room overnight before the midnight. Although there was no running water, no power and no air conditioning, I curled up into a corner and fell asleep quickly.

I woke up the next morning, and what a change! The sky was blue and cars were moving around. Sirens could be heard as convoys (护航队) of emergency managements started to head west towards where I had come from. "The storm had stopped and I could go home. I gave all my remaining supplies to other people at the hotel and headed towards the airport. Houston Airport was not damaged, so I took my flight and drank my first hot drink in four days.

All in all, when I came back home, I was proud that I finally made it again to follow and record the storm and I really learned a lot these days. Although it’s dangerous, I love my job as not many people would go into the eye of an intense storm.