I have an overwhelming need to write about the disaster unfolding around us here on the South Coast. There is such a sombre mood everywhere here, no smiles and cries of happy new year just yet, we hardly know what day it is to be honest. Of course we live in a time of 24/7 media so everyone knows about and lives through these things pretty much as they happen but that is nothing compared to living in it and seeing and hearing all the stories of people and animals being trapped or displaced and the sheer overwhelming reality of 12+ million acres having been burnt out across Australia, 10 million in our state alone. Seeing as the world mourned when 2.45 million acres were lost in the Amazon last year there has been little international outpouring for the loss of our unique indigenous animals and birds. There are reports of dead birds falling from the sky, they just couldn’t outrun the fire storm sadly. Here at home we have bowls of water scattered around the garden and I have spread seeds in the hope the birds will find it as food and drink is in short supply for them. The cows are resting more often as I imagine they too are affected by the smoke in the air and the lack of feed on the ground. The farmers are doing their very best and hand feeding them at considerable cost and the dairy cows still have to be milked even though due to road closures they cannot get the milk trucks out and some farms have dumped thousands of litres of milk due to power failures or transport problems. The ripples from these fires are very long and wide, not just the terrible reality of lives, houses and livestock lost. Businesses have also taken huge losses at what is usually their biggest time of the year. Food is spoiling in supermarkets and cafes with the power failures shutting down the refrigeration and all the holiday vacation industry is giving full refunds to people no questions asked when they would usually be fully booked. The upside to this is there is quite a lot of spare accommodation available which is now being offered to stranded or evacuated people. 

The sheer enormity of the losses is hard to take in with whole towns being wiped out in a matter of minutes such was the ferocity of the fire.

We have been very lucky so far and have been in a position to help people who have evacuated by storing some of their larger personal items and by providing the odd night’s accommodation when needed but there is a feeling of uselessness at not being able to do more. We have donated packages of much needed items to the rural fire service via a local real estate agent – sunscreen, hydration tablets, lip balm, wet wipes, eye drops and insect repellent. Others have given out slabs of drinking water, powerade and all the local cafés are giving free coffee and burgers to the emergency services. There are convoys of fire trucks, lights flashing going up and down the highway and sometimes absolutely no traffic as roads get shut – both are equally scary.

There are some great phone apps that can help nowadays – the fires near me app is pretty good at telling us what is happening nearby, the weather apps predict quite accurately what temperature and wind to expect and live traffic apps tell us of road closures. Radio and TV are keeping people up to date too and it is not until all phone/internet and power is cut off that people have felt truly stranded. For many people it is a waiting game. Waiting to hear from loved ones. Waiting for the roads to open. Waiting to go home and see what is left. Waiting to see if your animals survived. Waiting for rain. Waiting for this damned fire to be over.

This picture shows molten aluminium, now solidified. Aluminium melts at 660.3 degrees Celsius. Try fighting anything that hot. Absolutely impossible.

That is my chook shed and this was as close as we have been so far to the fire and on a 43 degree day it felt very ominous. The previous day a paddock 3kms from us caught fire when their hay bales exploded, apparently if the lucerne is cut too green this can happen in the heat. Luckily 3 helicopters poured aerial buckets over it and it was contained quickly. The video footage we have seen of trees self combusting and embers being blown up to 30km ahead of the fire front tells us that anything can and will happen and it’s best not to be complacent even if you are supposedly in a safe area. As we are surrounded by paddocks we are pretty sure we could see anything coming and put it out in time but our gutters have been cleaned out and debris cleared away from the house just in case. Everything is coated in ash, even inside the house somehow, and we all have sore throats and stingy eyes as well as sinus infections so that smoke is having more of an effect than we thought. All this is nothing of course in comparison to the people stranded and homeless. People have lost their lives staying to look after their herds and others report the sound of their animals screaming as the fire overtakes them will be etched in their brains forever. Horse owners are using precious water to keep their frightened animals cool by throwing buckets over them. One local lady evacuated her pigs but they went to Cobargo, a town that was unexpectedly decimated. Somehow one pig survived but she cannot transport it back due to road closures. Our local showground has become a sanctuary for evacuated animals of all shapes and sizes and it is only once the animals have been safely sorted that lots of these kind stoic country people then evacuate themselves.

Of course before all this escalated we had Christmas but it somehow doesn’t seem appropriate to talk about happy jolly things right now so I shall keep it for my next post when hopefully I will report that the worst is over and the fire is finally under control and that it IS RAINING!!! We have to get through this Saturday 4th first with another 43 degree day with strong squally winds forecast. We are all praying the fire will not jump the river. Right now I can hear sirens and helicopters are flying low over the house, the wind has just picked up and that can only mean trouble. A few of the roads have opened to let tourists go home. There is a 30km traffic jam of cars laden with kayaks and surfboards and bicycles with tinsel around the handlebars as the holidaymakers escape back to the big city. Now there is a shortage of petrol as power failures mean garages cannot pump the gas and diesel is in short supply as (rightly so) the firetrucks and first response trucks have first dibs. For those that experienced the Armageddon like redness of NYE it is a holiday they are unlikely to forget for all the wrong reasons but I know the rain will come and once again the south coast will be a green and lush place full of nature as the bush regenerates and people will visit again to enjoy the pristine coastal water and magnificent beaches, the verdant wineries and pretty coastal villages. In fact after losing so much business at the busiest time of the year the one thing we CAN all do is support our local town and shop and buy local, eat out in the cafes and restaurants again and stick together. The one overriding thing I have taken from the past few weeks is the wonderful sense of local community and coming together, of people helping each other, donating time and money, holding fundraisers to help the rural fire services and to re-clothe people left with nothing. Hordes of people making sandwiches and tea ( always a winner in a crisis) and offering paddocks and floors for strangers and their animals no questions asked. People are being good and kind and sometimes in the heart of darkness we really do get to see the best of humanity, that sense of mateship that Aussies hold so dear and that will ultimately help us all get through what has been the toughest of times for so many. See you on the other side…..