This is a copy of an article I wrote in February 2010, from memory, on my then Yahoo blog site, some 12 months after Black Saturday of the previous year, here in Victoria. As with then, there are presently no doubt plenty of current media references to that weekend, ten years ago. It is a lengthy article based on media and other reports of the time. I don’t apologise for the length – those who wish to read on are welcome to do so, you have that choice, I merely submit it again, for the record…………………. aptly republished on a day here in Victoria where the same kind of threat is a real danger
[5th February 2010]…………………..This weekend sees twelve months since the tragic ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires here in Victoria – 7th February 2009 – and if you are reading, listening to, or watching the media over these few days [particularly here in Victoria], you could not possibly be unaware of the fact. Whilst in the car earlier this morning, I was listening to a broadcast on Radio National consisting of a series of interviews with current and former residents of the small town of Marysville interviews that took place in the mobile library that just happened to be visiting the town this week. Having spent two or three weekends at an annual church camp some years not too distant past, I was familiar with many of the buildings that were destroyed that day – one was the ‘Marysville Lolly Shop’ as it was affectionally known , and I recalled the odd Saturday morning visit to that establishment as part of our weekend ‘wander’ into the town each year. Twelve months later, it was interesting to hear of some of the plans and hopes of former residents as they looked ahead to rebuilding, etc, and remaining in the town – despite the fact in some cases where all of their former neighbours had died during the inferno of that day.
As ‘my’ acknowledgement and recalling of Black Saturday, I’ve reproduced below my thoughts, and those of others plus news reports, which I recorded at the time in my daily ‘blog’ entries. These thoughts commence the day prior to the fires, where there is already a premonition of major concerns, yet never in the wildest imaginations of anybody, could we have predicted what actually occurred. On that afternoon and evening, some 173 persons were killed, up to 414 injured, and thousands of homes, businesses, properties and equipment, and livestock] destroyed in a few short hours of terror and unbelievable destruction. Most of this occurred within an hour’s drive of Melbourne’s CBD. It is estimated that up to 400 individual fires were burning that day.
Friday, February 6th, 2009 – unwelcome weekend promises!!
Well as Victoria prepares to face a weekend, in which we are promised what many are describing, as potential weather conditions for tomorrow, as far worse than those that led to the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia, one has to feel a mood of apprehension for those people who live in the likely fire danger areas, of which there are many. While no rural area could be classified as without some danger, I would think that where I am is relatively safe. But even a few kilometres north of here, there would be quite a few families living in the mountainous bush areas who would be hopefully thinking ‘evacuation procedures and plans’ overnight, as another day of 44 degrees and hot northerly winds approaches. Meanwhile, scenes like the bushfire photos I’m presently looking at, are an extra worry personally, as I’m aware [though can’t contact him] that my brother and one of his sons, who live to the east of Melbourne, will most likely be amongst the hundreds of volunteer fire fighters likely to be trying to control those kind of infernos should they occur. We will keep you informed >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Saturday, February 07, 2009 – the State of Victoria on fire!!
It’s late Saturday afternoon in Melbourne [and Sunbury], and emergency services around the State are issuing various warnings of this nature – ‘Authorities have issued urgent fire warnings to towns near a bushfire burning out of control an hour east of Melbourne’, and that warning applies to many towns and rural areas around Victoria. Experienced fire crews are describing the conditions for potential disaster as the worst they can recall – there are fire bans across much of the nation’s southeast with conditions said to be the worst since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, which killed 75 people and razed two and a half thousand houses. – a short while ago, in Melbourne, accompanied by ferocious winds, the temperature was sitting on 46.4 degrees [Centigrade] Melbourne’s hottest day since records began 150 years ago. peaking at 46.4 degrees which, when converted to Fahrenheit means 116 degrees!! Conditions outside are grim, and throughout Australia today, varied – Today was a day of wild weather extremes across Australia as floodwaters rose in northern Queensland while more than 100 thousand fire fighters remained on standby in the three south eastern states. More than 40 blazes are burning in Victoria and New South Wales as a heatwave pushed the mercury as high as 47 degrees accompanied by strong winds and South Australia faces its 13th straight day of searing heat.
Saturday, February 07, 2009 – Saturday update 2
It’s coming up to 5.40 pm. The weather is changing – well, cooling a little, as the winds change direction, but that’s not good for the fires, as it usually turns them off in a different direction, and with no rain predicted with the change [apart from electrical storms which start more fires], many areas of the state will continue to have a dramatic night ahead of them.
Now I just stepped out my front door – wind still swirly and uncontrollable, but the temperature does seem to have dropped a little. There are bushfires burning about 40-50 kilometres northeast of here, and I could tell that immediately I stepped out of the house, you can smell the fires in the air! I’m glad that I am here!!
Saturday, February 7th, 2009 – Victorian bushfire update!
Further to my earlier reports on this seemingly tragic day in Victoria’s summer, because very sadly, it is fast becoming a day of tragedy, as the terror of horrendous bushfires throughout the day, become even more terrifying [if that is possible] as night falls. It’s now about 10.15pm, and a number of major fires are still out of control in various parts of the state. A few minutes ago, the shocking news came through that the initial report from the ABC and Nine News, is that “Fourteen people have been killed in the savage bushfires which set Victoria ablaze on Saturday. Victoria police confirmed the deaths on Saturday night and said they fear the figure may be more than 40. At least 100 homes have been destroyed as nine major blazes burnt out of control across Victoria in the worst fire conditions in the state’s history.” And the fear is that those numbers, in terms of the losses of homes and lives, will grow further, as emergency services get into the worst affected areas. The worst appears now to be north of Melbourne, around the little town of Kinglake, where fire swept down the main street at one stage, and perhaps even now, there are no ways in or out of the town, as it is surrounded by fires on all the access roads. Now I’m not personally affected, as far as I’m aware [though I am left wondering where my brother is, and what area of the fires, he is helping to fight], by any of this, but at this moment, I feel quite distressed and upset, at the regular updates that are coming through our national broadcaster [the ABC] which has virtually suspended all of it’s regular programs to provide a non-stop radio coverage of what is happening – an emergency radio service for the benefit of people who may be in the affected areas. This has included many recent reports from the Kinglake area, and direct contact with residents in the town. As this report which follows explains the situation from Kinglake:
Fifty houses were reportedly lost in the Bendigo area in the Redesdale blaze and up to 30 houses went up in the Kilmore fire which pushed across Whittlesea and into the town of Kinglake, northwest of Melbourne, which one resident said had gone up in flames. “The whole township is pretty much on fire,” Peter Mitchell told ABC Radio. “There was no time to do anything … it came through in minutes. “There’ll be a massive loss of houses … There’ll be a lot of us homeless. “All those who have made it into town will be fine. The others will be sheltering and working on their fire plans, God help them.” Mr Mitchell said he was with around 200 residents holed up in the local pub and that no fire trucks could get into the town. Thousands more residents in the region were sheltering wherever they could find cover as they were warned the worst was to come overnight. A cool change early Saturday evening did not bring any respite but, in fact, was expected to create more volatile conditions. “It hasn’t helped the fire fighters, only presented them with new fronts,” the Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokeswoman said.”
I fear that the news is going to get worse as the night wears on, but I hope I don’t have to relate anything worse than I already have………………..not optimistic, under the current circumstances.
Sunday, February 8th, 2009 – in the cruel light of day
It’s coming up to 6am on a Sunday morning. I drifted off to sleep in the early hours of this morning, with ABC radio on in the background, continuing with their ongoing ‘emergency’ broadcasting service, and woke again at about 4.30am.
The stories coming from the radio continue to depress and sadden your ‘personal essayist’. There is a little ‘holiday’ township up in the hills and forests, a couple of hours to the north east of Melbourne. Our local church has a weekend camp there every year on a site just out of the town, opposite the golf course, deep in the bushland – Marysville, a weekend that I have been a part of on two occasions, though not for some years. I remember our Saturday morning walks down to a great little bakery in the town, for a morning tea of coffee and freshly baked scones with cream. The first report I heard this morning was that the bakery was the only building left standing in the town! Miraculously, unlike other areas, all of the population of Marysville were reportedly evacuated to safer areas, they had time to do so, before the fires swept into their town.
Not so lucky were areas like Kinglake, and the west of Bendigo. Now Bendigo, located about an hour north of here, is probably Victoria’s 4th largest city, yet at one stage yesterday, the city itself was under threat of a massive fire sweeping into it’s built up areas. As it was, some 50 homes were destroyed in that fire alone, one of over 400 fires which were apparently burning at different stages during the day.
I’m going off to my regular Sunday morning radio program shortly – two hours of classical music. Not sure if I’m really in the mood for it this morning, though if anything can have a calming affect, it’s the music I play on a Sunday.
Meanwhile, from the Sydney Morning Herald post this morning, I include this news quote for those interested.
“Fourteen people are confirmed dead but as many as 40 are feared to have died as bushfires swept across Victoria yesterday and continued to burn through the night. Police, who last night could only begin going into the blackened ruins of towns and communities, said six people were killed in a single vehicle in Kinglake. But they acknowledged they had little idea of how many could be buried inside their ruined homes, or burned as they tried to escape, and that the death toll could go much higher. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said official predictions that 40 people had lost their lives was only an estimate. “I hope that we are wrong but it is a reasonable belief to hold,” Mr Walshe said. “This has been an absolute tragedy and we believe this situation may get far worse. It is our understanding that there could be up to 40 deaths as a result of the fire. “At this stage, it’s difficult to confirm the situation. We have a number of police personnel out in the fire areas as well as many other emergency service workers and we are trying our best to confirm the number of other deceased. “We are still in a very difficult situation as the fires are still burning. At this stage we are only now being able to get into the regions and areas where the fires were at their worst. “It is reasonable to assume that there could be many more people who have lost their lives. We want to let the community know what is going on.” Police suspect some fires were deliberately lit.
The fires were driven by hot winds of more than 100 kmh, and temperatures higher than ever recorded in the state, peaking in Melbourne at 46.4 degrees, hotter even than Black Friday in 1939. The horror came just a week short of the 26th anniversary of the Ash Wednesday fires that claimed 47 lives in Victoria, destroyed 2800 homes and caused damage worth $200 million. Victorian Premier John Brumby described it as a “a deeply sad and shocking tragedy, an incredible and terrible loss”. “My heart and, I am sure, the hearts of all Victorians go to the families and to the firefighters and volunteers who continue to battle the fires,” Mr Brumby said. He spent yesterday at his farm in Harcourt in Bendigo activating his fire plan to protect the property. More than 3000 firefighters battled blazes that spread in a thick band across the entire state. A squally change in the afternoon simply changed the direction of many fires, opening up new fronts, and new threats.”
Sunday, February 8th, 2009 – a Savage Saturday.
‘A savage Saturday, when nature gave Victoria a beating’, and 24 hours after it all started, there continue this afternoon [Sunday] to be many towns and communities and farmlands under direct threat from existing and/or new fires, many still burning out of control. In the areas of the fires, the temperatures and wind conditions are much more moderate than yesterday’s horrific conditions, but because of the dryness of the countryside generally, the dangers and threats are just as serious. Our State Premier, John Brumby has described yesterday as the ‘worst day in our history’ [certainly since European settlement in the early 1800s], and this is a big statement [but reality] if we think back to the Black Friday tragedy which struck on the 13th of January 1939 when a firestorm swept across Victoria……71 people died, or the one I remember, 16th February, 1983 [Ash Wednesday] when over 100 fires started, as they swept across Victoria and South Australia, at a cost 75 lives.
Victoria has experienced its worst bushfires since the deadly Ash Wednesday infernos 26 years ago.
Yesterday, there were at different stages, almost 400 fires throughout the state, and as officially reported a couple of hours ago, the death toll from this weekend’s bushfires is now 35 [and likely to get higher, updated at end of blog], while at least one town has “virtually ceased to exist”. There are unconfirmed reports of further bodies being found in cars overtaken by the fires as occupants tried to escape at the last minute from the infernos. One car, found near Kinglake yesterday, contained six people!! The number of destroyed homes is expected to end up in the hundreds [up to 640 was a recent count]. One of the regular warnings of the CFA [Country Fire Authority], is not to leave it until the last minute before deciding to flee a fire. I have just been listening to reports of some new threats – where the CFA are telling residents that it is now too late to leave your home, [the fire will outrun you], better to stay and sit out the fire in your home [or go to a neighbour] but do not try and flee now in cars – it seems the majority of deaths have so far involved people been trapped in their cars. I recall a tragic localised fire at a place called Lara, many years ago, on the highway between Melbourne and Geelong [Victoria’s 2nd biggest city] when I think nearly all of the deaths that day were of motorist trapped in their cars on the freeway when fires swept across the road.
I mentioned earlier this morning, a favourite little historical town of mine, called Marysville, located two hours north east of Melbourne up in the hills as part of Victoria’s Great Dividing Range [where further north this afternoon, small towns and settlements are under direct threat from approaching fires]. The town is located in a very peaceful and scenic location, and has long been a popular holiday retreat for visitors, especially during the spectacular springtime blooming season and the colourful autumn period. Its history dates back to the mid-1800s when gold was discovered in the area, however it wasn’t long before guest houses were established and the town became a favourite for honeymooners due to its tranquil setting amongst native bush and waterfalls. The town centre of Marysville is situated along the shady avenue of Murchison Street which has been landscaped to reflect the town’s natural environment. Street gutters along one side of the road have been replaced by a meandering rocky stream lined with native grasses featuring bridges leading to shop doorways.
Sadly, this beautiful spot, has been all but wiped off the map. From the ABC… . “Aerial pictures taken by the ABC show street after street of completely destroyed homes in Marysville. Most are just piles of rubble. Some still have walls standing and a handful appear to be mostly intact. ABC reporter Jane Cowan visited Marysville this morning and says the township has “virtually ceased to exist”. “We were in the main street and it’s like a warzone, like a bomb has been dropped on the entire township,” she said. “People there are in an absolute state of shock. Most people had already left, but the people, I’d say about 30 people that are still left and had spent the night sheltering on the Football Oval there, are just completely dazed. “[They are] walking around the streets with rugs around their shoulders because it’s actually getting cold here now if you can believe it. “And they tell stories of how fast everything turned bad there yesterday, about five or six o’clock in the evening. “They say they actually thought the fire was going to go around the town of Marysville and then in a matter of minutes the sky went black and they knew they were in big trouble. “People are talking about sheltering in their homes seeing every single house in their street go up in flames in a row, one by one … of narrow escapes … houses that managed to survive. “There’s a handful of houses that miraculously are still standing in Marysville”’
I have also mentioned Kinglake, situated 65kms north of Melbourne, and includes a forest area, farmland, a national park and a township, also a part of the Great Dividing Range but further to the west, than Marysville. There are a number of little townships and rural settlements in that area [all have been in danger and/or still are], and the whole of the ‘Kinglake Ranges are a popular tourist and bush walking area, in which I spent much time in my younger years. It’s not been confirmed yet, but much of the township of Kinglake has also been destroyed.
Meanwhile, an emotional Victorian Premier John Brumby says the state has been devastated by the bushfires that raced across the state in severe weather conditions yesterday. This is not over yet. Tragically I think there will be more bad news. “It’s a tragic day, a tragic weekend in our history. The impacts on families are just devastating – I feel devastated.”
On a more personal note, I eventually heard from my CFA brother – he in fact, was not fighting the fires, but was on the highway with his wife returning from a trip to Queensland. I’m not sure where he would have preferred to have been – knowing Colin, would probably have wanted to have been down here, doing what he has been trained to do. I was glad myself to realise he was safe, though probably he will join other fire fighters tomorrow. Apparently his son was out yesterday assisting with a fire that actually hit their outer Melbourne suburb in one area. I think that was the closest these fires came to metropolitan Melbourne, although the Kinglake fires certainly had the potential, had yesterday’s weather conditions continued, to reach right down into some of the leafy northern suburbs of our city.
I have other friends and associates living in other of the fire areas. Up in the Bendigo, there are a number of public tenants who are a part of my employment organization in live in the area most devastated in Bendigo. Will be unable to follow up there circumstances until tomorrow. Similarly, friends down in South Gippsland, in an area which faced fires and lost 30 homes, have gone through it all this weekend, in even more devastating fashion, including lives.
Meanwhile, I must thank those readers who have added comments or made remarks on my blogs over the last couple of days – your thoughts, and comments have been much appreciated. Obviously, I’m not facing any direct affect of any sort, although as our Prime Minister said this afternoon – “Hell, in all it’s fury visited Victoria – an appalling tragedy for Victoria, and because of that, an appalling tragedy for Australia”. It’s ironic that there are two conflicting disasters in Australia at present – up in far North Queensland, massive floods have cut off whole communities through constant rains, while down here, the lack of rain, has added to the disaster we are currently experiencing. Unfortunately, it is not over yet, for as a second night approaches, many communities and towns are still severely threatened by fires still burning basically out of control, while those areas that have already suffered, people are unable to return to their homes [or the ashes of what were their homes], and face another night, perhaps one of many, sheltering in community halls and other facilities, many knowing they have lost everything, including family members, others not knowing whether they still have a home, or a husband, etc. In many cases, houses which provided a lifetime of shelter, exploded and were gone in five minutes as the massive walls of flame engulfed them from surrounding forests and grasslands. There are stories of the roads around Kinglake littered with crashed and burnt out cars – crashed into other vehicles, or into fallen trees, as they attempted the impossible task of fleeing flames through thick black smoke.
I realize this disaster does not compare in size and volume with something like the 2004 tsunami, yet it is significant enough for us Victorians, as natural disasters of this magnitude are few and far between, with just looking at fires alone, the figures quoted above and the span of years – 1939 [71 deaths], 1983 [75 deaths in Victoria & South Australia] – and now, as of 7pm tonight, 66 people have died in the last 24 hours as ‘Victoria burned’, and they tell to expect more, included a number of burns victims in Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital Burns Unit who are not expected to survive.
I have cried while I watched the news reports tonight – should I be ashamed of that – I don’t think I am alone, our Premier did the same thing on national television as he spoke of the weekend’s events – which ironically, involved concern over his parent’s home, which was just saved from destruction, so there was a very real personal aspect of John Brumby’s public display of grief.
Perhaps I’ve said enough, but in summary, as of 7.30 pm tonight, over 700 homes have already been lost since this time yesterday, the death toll from Victoria’s bushfires has risen to 66 [which surpasses the 47 Victorians killed on Ash Wednesday 1983], and dozens of communities have been destroyed, in particular the townships of Marysville and Kinglake, and all this amid grave fears for towns in the state’s northeast as fires continue to rage out of control there, and other areas. Most of the fire victims have come from areas just north of Melbourne My heart aches for all the suffering and trauma that so many people are going through tonight. And I think of little things. Last week, children went back to school for 2009, many of them for the first time – at least four schools were destroyed last night, including the Marysville Primary School – after a few days of a new life, they have lost their school. Meanwhile hundreds, perhaps thousands of livestock, and pets have been lost – there are many horse studs, etc in the affected areas, and it is painful to think of the potential losses there. At least 200,000 hectares of land has been burnt out in more than 400 fires in every part of the state over the weekend. Meanwhile, work is slowly getting underway in treacherous conditions to restore power to about 14,000 properties in fire-ravaged areas of northeastern and eastern Victoria, the national electricity company says. Victoria Police Deputy Chief Commissioner Kieran Walshe has said some of the fires are believed to have been deliberately lit, but would not say which ones.
Monday, February 9th, 2009 – the morning after, as the crisis continues.
I woke around 5am this morning with what felt like a heavy cloud shadowing over my person – the feeling you have, the morning after the death of a close relative or friend, and that cloud remained around me, as I drove into the city later on, listening to the news reports, and ongoing fire crisis, which even now, 12 hours later, is still very real, with at least 50 fires still burning, some quite dangerous and threatening more small towns and rural communities. There have been some harrowing stories coming out today, of bravery, miracles, close escapes, but so many, of pure tragedy, that it is difficult not to become emotional as you listen and watch the events and stories unfolding.
While messages and support come from around the world, on what is turning out to be my country’s worst ever peace time disaster……………..
INTERNATIONAL friends have rallied to help and sympathise with Australia in the wake of the nation’s deadliest bushfire disaster. The Victorian bushfires, which have exacted the biggest peacetime toll on the country, made headlines around the world, prompting messages of support from people thousands of miles away. Governor-General Quentin Bryce passed on a message from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to the nation, expressing her shock and dismay at the tragedy. “I was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend,” the Queen’s message read. “I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died and my deep sympathy to the many that have lost their homes in this disaster.”
And I have had support from friends on here and through the Yahoo network, though I personally have done nothing, suffered nothing, to deserve such words – I saw a man on the TV tonight, break down – his home had been the only unburnt in his street, and he felt guilty because everyone around him had lost everything, and he had survived. I felt guilty today, that I could just go about my normal life, while so much suffering was happening just a few miles away!
Sadly the death toll continues to rise as emergency workers and police are finally able to get to the worst hit areas where they are searching the ruins of homes, cars and other buildings. As of tonight, the count is 131 of our people died on Saturday in Victoria. However, the final death toll of the devastating “Hell on Earth” bushfires could be well above 200, according to reports of government crisis meetings. With the official toll standing at 131, the fires are already the worst natural disaster to ever befall Australians. The Victorian government has been briefed to expect a final death toll close to 230, according to a report in The Australian Newspaper. Meanwhile, at least 750 homes were destroyed in the fires and more than 330,000ha burnt out, and authorities say some fires could take weeks to contain…………..
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 – it continues.
Just a brief note this morning. Perhaps my readers are tiring of this subject. However, I have had a night of sleep, and then awoke to find that overnight, the number of fire victims has moved from 131 to 173. Such an unpleasant task, for those concerned, searching through the remains of burnt out homes for people who could not get out in time, or had stayed on the advice of authorities. Not a job I could not cope with. I think the advice of the future will be ‘get out early’ – this time, the speed of the attack, prevented even that possibility. I hear many concerns being expressed about lack of warning on Saturday, and how so many of those who have lost everything, and undertaken all of the necessary precautions and preparations to protect their homes in the case of a ‘normal’ bushfire. But it has become so obvious, all of that, in most cases, went to nought, because of the speed and ferosity of the firestorm, this was not a normal bushfire.
Meanwhile, fires continued to burn overnight, and I feel for the stress and apprehension of people living in those areas facing new threats and potential disaster. I commented to my fellow radio presenter last night, as I went on air – one almost feels guilty ‘having fun’ playing music while so much suffering and loss is occurring – but like so much in life, in times of disaster. life must still go on, where it can, and I guess I need to remember that also.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 – the story of a beautiful mountain village!
This is the story of one of the communities that virtually ceased to exist last Saturday evening, and it involves the little town of Marysville, which I think I referred to in one of Sunday’s blog. At that time, whilst saddened to hear that the town I’d spent a few weekends in a few years ago, had almost been destroyed, I was gladdened to hear that most of it’s residents had been evacuated to safety. Tragically, as the following story indicates, that was a false hope. It appeared in today’s ‘Australian Newspaper’ and was headed ‘Ground Zero: town feared lost [‘The whole town died around us as we bunkered down on the outside of the oval ringed by funeral pyres’].
“VICTORIAN Premier John Brumby has confirmed the worst fears for the township of Marysville, describing it as “like a bomb” hit it and warning that the fatality rate “will be very high”.
“The Australian revealed this morning that fire authorities fear that up to 100 of its 519 residents may have perished in the blaze that left only a dozen homes standing in the town, northeast of Melbourne. Mr Brumby, speaking on ABC Radio National’s Breakfast program, said that he had visited Marysville since the fires and saw first hand that “there is nothing left”. “I went there (to Marysville) as a kid, I can remember that, I think three million Australians have been to Marysville and done Stevenson’s Falls, there’s just nothing left of the town,” he said. “It’s so eerie – there’s no sound, there’s nothing,” he said. “There’s no activity, there’s no people, there’s no buildings, there’s no birds, there’s no animals, everything’s just gone. So the fatality rate will be very high.” Asked if he expected more bad news on the death toll from the fires, which stands at 181, Mr Brumby said: “The number will continue to increase. Yesterday we had two emergency meetings of cabinet…and were briefed on all of these issues by the relevant authorities, so the number tragically will continue to increase.”
CFA firefighter John Munday, who was in one of the fire trucks that entered Marysville about 10 minutes before the firefront swept through the town just before 6pm on Saturday, described in horrific detail how little hope so many residents had of escaping, let alone surviving. “The toll is going to be massive,” Mr Munday said. He described how he and his crew had to make the heartbreaking decision to save themselves knowing they were leaving people to die.
“We had people banging on the sides of our tanker begging us to go back to houses where they knew there were people trapped, but we couldn’t because if we had, we’d all be dead too,” Mr Munday told The Australian. “There were children running down the streets with flames behind them. It was hell. I never want to go back to that place, never. “As we drove down to the Gallipoli Park, where people were assembling, we knew there were people in homes that were on fire and they had no hope. “The whole town died around us as we bunkered down on the outside of the oval ringed by funeral pyres while all around us we had the screaming noise of gas cylinders exploding in homes. “The only way we could have saved them was to put ourselves on the altar and put a sword to our own hearts.”
The official death toll from the Black Saturday fires had risen to 181 last night, with 15 confirmed dead in Marysville. Since Sunday, The Australian has interviewed more than 30 of about 80 Marysville residents taking refuge in Alexandra. Almost every one of them relayed a story about a fellow resident who they had not been able to establish contact with and whom they feared had perished.
Kevin Rudd, who saw the devastation of Marysville first-hand on Monday as accompanying reporters were ordered to remain in their vehicles, yesterday told parliament of the “trauma of scars and blackened vehicles along the road”.
Facing a public backlash over delays, the Victorian Government opened roads into Kinglake, another destroyed town north of Melbourne, to allow residents to return. Residents who escaped the fires in Marysville were distraught when told by officials at a tearful, and at times angry, public meeting in Alexandra yesterday that they could not predict how long it would take police to complete the task of identifying the dead.
Already more than 50 unidentified bodies lie in Melbourne’s morgue, and amid the ruins around the state. Victoria’s topforensic expert has warned that some victims may never be identified. Sergeant David Rowles from Victoria Police said Marysville had been declared “one huge crime scene”. “It is horrific down there, the devastation is extensive and the DVI (disaster victim identification) officers are searching the place house by house,” he said. “We cannot predict when anyone can go back in. It is possibly weeks.”
Resident Marie O’Sullivan drew thunderous applause when she stood up and called for calm and compassion for the emergency services workers charged with finding bodies after some members of the audience began expressing their frustration at not being able to return to Marysville immediately.
“We have all lost a lot,” Ms O’Sullivan said tearfully. “If that town is full of bodies, and my home is there too, then we can’t be angry, we can only be sad.” Later, she told The Australian she feared the worst. “Every car, every house and every tank could have a body in it. I know that one of my friends has died and her two sons, too. Everyone knows someone who is missing.” Those missing include Liz Leesfield and her boys, Mathew and James. Ms O’Sullivan said she had learned that the three had died in their spa when the fire swept through their new home. “Liz was part of a little sewing group we have in town and she and her husband and boys had only just moved into their new home a week before the fires,” she said. “Liz and her husband, Rod, who survived and is in hospital, had saved for five years to get the deposit to buy this property which they were going to run as an accommodation complex. She was just an absolutely energetic, bubbly, wonderful woman who had worked so hard to achieve this dream and I can’t believe she’s gone but it appears to be the case,” Mrs O’Sullivan said.
Another Marysvile resident who lived near the Leesfield family, Steve Guilfoyle told the same story. “Liz was an extremely religious person, the whole family was. They were always good for a laugh, mountain hillbillies who’d lived in the area for years and had settled back in town just days before this tragedy.” Mr Guilfoyle, who narrowly escaped with his wife and two children last Saturday stood in tears at the community meeting trying to pick out faces in the crowd in the vain hope he might find some of his missing friends. They weren’t there. He paid tribute to some of them later.
They included Errol and Harley Morgan. Mr Guilfoyle said Harley Morgan worked in the Narbathong mill but was always talking about retirement. “He was a chain saw sculpter and made a lot of art that many of us had in our homes. He was a bloke who loved a yap; Harley would chew your ear off.” He described Kirsty Nilsson who ran the Christmas Shop in town and her husband Issac who worked in Melbourne as an arts distributer and who are also missing, feared dead as good mountain people. “Kirsty was into everything. The kinder, brownies, the school. They were just beaut people.” “And then there’s Lizzy Fisk and her beautiful boy Dalton who’s only 12 years old or thereabouts. They died together I understand. Her husband Glen is a CFA fighter. Everyone in town loved Lizzy, especially the children, they adored her. If there was something going on around town, then you can bet your bottom dollar Lizzy Fisk would turn up. She was one of the most community spirited people you could ever meet. “The list goes on. The fire has changed us from a town of residents to family. But for now we’re waiting for names and coming to meetings like this hoping we might spot one of them. But they’re not here.”
I imagine that I feel most distraught about Marysville, because I had spent time there, and probably met some of the people now missing, or enjoyed their hospitality in their shops, bakery etc, and were a part of the Sunday morning church service on a couple of occasions. And while I have not been up in the Kinglake area for many years [one of the other devastated towns], I spent a lot of time there in my younger years. These areas are typical examples of the beautiful Australian bush and hill country, the reason so many people are attracted to go and make their homes in such places, within reasonable distance of the city [Melbourne] but still retaining their own sense of a paradise. But sadly, our beautiful Australian bush, is also one of the three most dangerous places in the world for bush fires [or brush fires as called elsewhere] – I think the other two areas are California, and a part of France.
Of course, as well as the human side of the story, there are the animals, as yet another story demonstrates: “MORE than a million native animals may have been killed in the Victorian bushfires, a wildlife expert says.
The massive effort to rescue animals caught in the fire has begun with triage centres set up to assess injured wildlife at staging posts at Kilmore, Whittlesea and Redesdale near Bendigo. The animals are then being treated and assessed by vets at nearby shelters, who make the agonising decision about which ones need to be euthanased. Those animals still able to may wait several weeks before walking out of fire-affected forest, said Gayle Chappell from the Hepburn Wildlife Shelter. Ms Chappell is among those working to rescue the animals and says the extent of the devastation may never be known.
“It (the animal death toll) will be in the hundreds of thousands, possibly millions,” Ms Chappell said. “We are not just talking the animals we are familiar with, there are gliders and all sorts of possums, antechinus (a mouse-like marsupial), bandicoots, birds – there is so much wildlife. “It is devastating, the actual size of the destruction is devastating to a number of wildlife populations.” It is feared endangered populations of gliders, owls and lizards may be among the dead. For those that have survived, the recovery process will be long and slow. “They have lost their homes too and they are not going to be rebuilt in a year or two years, it is a much longer-term picture,” Ms Chappell said. “You can’t reconstruct a forest.”
The fires also destroyed four wildlife shelters including Stella Reid’s Wildhaven shelter at Kinglake. Ms Chappell said Ms Reid escaped with her life, but the animals were not so lucky. “It has been a real blow for everybody I think. That is what has really brought it home for everybody, hearing that Stella Reid’s place was totalled and all her animals … they weren’t able to get any animals out at all.”
Meanwhile, like disasters if this kind around the world, the response of countless community aid organisations, relief agencies and thousands of individual volunteers, rushing to help those in need has been massive. Which brings me to pay special personal tribute to our own volunteers – I don’t think any of them were directly involved [thank God] in the worst fire areas on Saturday, but they have all played a part in various areas of fire affected regions since – thank you to Colin [my brother], Craig [my nephew, and Colin’s son] and Ross [my brother-in-law] for potentially risking your own lives and the security of a normal safe livelihood [like I consider mine to be] as members of the CFA [Country Fire Authority – our volunteer fire fighters]. From the coverage of recent days, I’ve got the impression from some CFA people that they felt they had failed to protect the community that they volunteer day by day to protect. But I think by now, after hearing the stories and outcomes of the horrific firestorms that struck on Saturday, that nobody could have done anymore than was done, there was no time or warning in many cases. I have been a volunteer here in Sunbury for 25 years, and still am, but those roles pale into insignificance I feel, when compared to what people like Colin, Craig and Ross put themselves up for in times like this. Well done guys, I’m proud to be a part of a family with potential life savers like you! And in the words of an internet community group here in rural Victoria “There are no words we can offer that are sufficient to express our sadness for the pain and loss of all involved. As Victorians ourselves we know indirectly of many people who were victims of this terrible disaster. We are blessed that no one close to us was involved but we feel the pain as if it was our own. It is heart warming to see the kindness and generosity our fellow Australians are extending to the people who have lost so much. We have never been more proud to be Aussies.”
[from a friend in the USA – “This tears my heart out. The loss I so well know. My step-Dad, Son and Grandson, Bryin all firefighters, all volonteers. Kylle, my son, was on the Biscuitt Fire, that took homes and lives, one of the largest fires in Oregon and they moved my friends furniture and things in to one of my green houses so she would have something but they couldn’t save the house when the wind changed and came down the river with a steady wall of fire over three miles across. First I’d seen Kylle cry in years, areas we had camped when he was but a child when we visited from Colorado and Alaska…I had deer, Black bear and every kind of bird and animal in my orchard and yard…I put out salt licks and they had the river for their water, to say the least I didn’t have many apples, pears or other fruit that year. The grapes were eaten leaves and vine.
Its a terrible feeling you are so helpless…I had 7 ft of water in the house from flooding another story, but also a dreadfully helpless feeling.”]
Friday, February 13, 2009 – Slowing down on a traumatic week.
The ‘raw’ statistics from last weekend [and Saturday in particular] reveal that at least 181 people lost their lives [and there is still a 5th of the population of the once lovely little village of Marysville unaccounted for]. A total of 1,330 homes approximately were lost, and many
businesses, public buildings, schools, etc, while an estimated 5,000 were left homeless.
I received some lovely thoughts, verses and things from friends over the past week, and I of course accepted those on behalf of the thousands who have suffered and lost from this tragedy – I myself of course lost nothing from all this, but I certainly feel the grief and sadness that it has created, while at the same time, marvelled at the community rallying to help and support the victims. I have myself put my name down on a list of thousands of potential volunteers, and if those who are responsible for organising the overall relief efforts, feel my assistance would be of any value in any direction, well, I will help where I can.
I don’t think any of my family read my blogs, so I sent them all an email containing a few of my thoughts and feelings about it all. Here’s a couple of comments that came back.
[from Brisbane] “Thanks for your very newsy email. We have been keeping up to date with all the devastating news down in Victoria. It is very hard to comprehend. Everyone seems to have the same story about how fast the fire spread. We were talking to a friend who has a very close friend from Kinglake, this morning. Apparently this gentleman from Kinglake is the drummer for the ‘Painters and Dockers’ Band. His wife, little baby and himself became trapped in the fire, 5 min. warning was all they had. By the time he retrieved his hard drive [which had all his business on it] and some baby nappies, it was too late. They wet a big blanket, ran down to a gully, which was at the bottom of their property, lay down in it covering themselves with the wet blanket, and said goodbye to one another. While under the blanket, 2 Birds of Paradise crawled under with them, including their dog. Amazingly, they all survived, although the blanket was badly burnt. They were one of the lucky families, even though they lost everything. The survival stories you hear are incredible. The amount of money that has been raised already is remarkable. We had a phone call from one of Rob’s sisters in Canada a couple of nights ago. They have all been following the story over there. She cannot understand that a person could even think about lighting a fire. Mary was not sure if we were near the floods up north [North Queensland] or near the fires – we have had a lot of heavy rain last night. You guys down there could certainly do with it – but it looks like you have to do the fighting the hard way”.
[also from Brisbane] “Many thanks for bringing us up to date on the terrible tragedy that has hit your state. We have, of course, been following it up on TV but yours is a much more personal account. We of course, can’t do anything except pray for the safety of our families, and we have
made a donation to the appeal”.
That appeal [for support fund raising] has already raised over $100 million from the Australian public!!
Sunday, February 15, 2009 . In conclusion …..
In conclusion, a very apt quotation from yesterday’s paper, and then a copy of the item to which it applied – “In so many cases, memories are all we have left”. Written by Simon Plant in the ‘Herald Sun Weekend’ we recall as follows. Admittedly, it’s a bit jingoistic in style and journalistic presentation – eg, ‘the fearless firefighters’ – let me assure you, they have fear of
death like all of us, But in broad terms, what is depicted in general, probably reflects all our feelings over this past week.
“They woke last Saturday, wondering how they would beat the heat. Because they lived in the country, they also wondered if they were properly protected against fire. So through the morning of February 7, they talked to neighbours, consulted action plans and primed their pumps. Just in case the worst should happen. The worst did. As the rest of us found escape from the hottest day Victoria has ever endured, howling winds gusted through our tinder-dry countryside and turned sparkling spot-fires into a full-blown inferno. By early evening, the people of Kinglake and Marysvlle, of Strathewen and Churchill, of Wandong and Flowerdale were engulfed by a firestorm like no other. An apocalyptic blaze without precedent in Australian history. This morning, one week after Black Saturday, the terrible toll creeps upwards. The figures, we are warned, will only get worse. Premier John Brumby is right to call this ‘the most tragic week in Victoria’s history. The destruction is truly biblical in scale. Whole towns have been razed by fire and reduced to smoking rubble. The statistics are daunting – more than 450,000 hectares burnt, more than 1,033 homes destroyed, hundreds of lives lost…..the figures go on. But numbers and aerial views tell only part of the story. This is an enormous human tragedy and to fully appreciate that we need to tell individual stories and put faces to the names of the fallen. Some we know: newsreader Brian Naylor and his wife, Moiree, who died at Kinglake. Actor Reg Evans, who died trying to save his home at St. Andrews. But there are many others we never knew….until now. This morning our thoughts turn to square dancers Adrian and Mirrabelle Brown who perished with their three young children at Kinglake. To Fay and Bill Walker and their wheelchair-bound son Geoff, who never escaped Narbethong. To students Melanee Hermocilla, her brother Jaeson, and Greg Llloyd, who disappeared in the fires at Yarra Glen. These Victorians – and dozens of others – look back at us now in photographs and, from family and friends, we learn something about all of them. Their achievements, their dreams, their bravery. There have been miracles too. How Bill and Sherrill Carta, separated in the Kinglake fires, reunited at the Alfred Hospital. How father-of-two Jason Lynn survived the same inferno lying on the muddy banks of his dam. These are right to celebrate these escapes. In times of crisis, they lift our hearts the way acts of bravery do. Just think of those
gallant firemen who herded 19 people into the Murrindindi River. And the couple who rescued a family of five when they saw them trapped in their crashed car. And the tradesman who doused the roof of a country hotel to save women and children inside. Equally, we need to remember the people who did not make it. Because, in so many cases, memories are all we have left. Everything else – photos, diaries, heirlooms – is gone, consumed by flames. Some of the week’s most poignant images have been amongst the smallest. I’m thinking of yellow post-it notes on a community noticeboard at Whittlesea, listing phone numbers for people still missing, and a sign at the Yea Relief Centre that read in part ‘We will not forget about you. You will rebuild and we will all help. Attention is already turning to reconstruction. To rebuilt homes and underground bunkers, to early-warning systems and Royal Commissions. This is as it should be. Lessons must be learnt so a tragedy of this kind is never, ever repeated. But today, let’s not think about politics and policy. Let’s think about people. About the fearless firefighters still battling blazes. About the stoic volunteers still dispensing hope. Most of all, about the men, women and children who lost their lives on Black Saturday. Their loss is so hard to bear because seven days ago these people had everything to live for. Just like us.”
Some of my contributions, from February 2009, written and contributed as the days unfolded………………………
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