Black Saturday Bushfires

I saw this photo from Black Saturday on Twitter this morning. Horrifying!

My niece, her wife and their boys lived there in the worst hit area. My niece's account of her day is harrowing and my niece's wife's experience was horrific and has left her with PTSD. She was in the CFA at the time and fought the fires. She's getting through the day the best she can and so are the boys.Their house suffered minor ember damage but the front fence was burnt to the ground. Most of their neighbours lost their homes with some losing their lives as well. Amongst the destruction, there was the odd house still standing and untouched.

I went up there soon afterwards and it was such a terrible thing to see the once lush forest now blackened, homes burnt, others bulldozed and left in piles of twisted debris. Houses gone, people gone, animals gone.

The fires brought out the best and worst in people. Amongst the worst was the then owners of the local pub which was right near the evacuation centre. They would not allow anyone in - not even those suffering from burns, some severely - because they were afraid that their fire extinguishers would be stolen.

The evacuation area was outdoors and once night time fell the temperature plummeted from the high 40's down to the bitter cold. The majority of people barely had enough time to save themselves let alone think ahead to what the temp may be later on so grabbing some warm clothing was not uppermost in people's minds. There were men, women and children - all in shock, all frightened, many injured, all freezing - but the hoteliers refused to provide blankets and yet again refused admittance to the pub.

There were also fires happening around them. The petrol station had exploded and the local shops were burning so there was also the smoke to contend with. Days later, the hoteliers tried to redeem themselves but it was too little, too late and they ended up selling and moved away.


The best was the resilience of those affected by the fires and the heartfelt generosity of the general public.


Fast forward ten years and the vultures descend. My niece told me this morning, that the media have been pestering people in the streets and have gone as far as to phoning the local chemist, twice, not identifying themselves, and asking how many residents are on anti-depressants because of the fires. The press will be kicked out this evening and the roads blocked so that the locals can commemorate what happened a decade ago in peace and privacy.

I'm not surprised the hoteliers had to move on. What a disgrace. You'd think the first thing they would want to do is reach out and support their community and indeed their patrons.

It's hard to condemn the media. They are also trying to commemorate what happened. It would be kind of heartless for them to do nothing about all those homes lost and the lives in turmoil or lost. The chemist caller should hang their head.

i had no idea that so many died, Ava, must be hard for everyone on this anniversary

i heard a discussion about these incidents and that the authorities need to do better in their advice to residents......because people are still driving into floodwaters and still staying "to save their houses" when told to go

just awful, Ava, thank you for your descriptions of this tragedy

i do remember the issues with communications, let's hope the authorities do better if there is a next time

that's a good article, Kay

Flashie, that would have been terrifying for her. I can imagine how sick with worry she would have been. She would have been beside herself not knowing if her children were safe or not.