It was the end of an extremely hot week in Melbourne
Australia
and the start of an even hotter week-end.
Temperatures had not been under 40C (104F) for seven days straight, and for the start of the week-end they were predicting 43C (109.4F) with strong southerly winds. It was going to be a scorcher no matter where you found yourself.
I was planning on going horse riding at 10am at a Ranch in Rubicon which was 2 hours from my home. On hearing the latest weather conditions I called the Ranch to be told riding was cancelled for the day. I considered going up anyway to capture some photos of the beautiful countryside out there in rural Melbourne, but a friend caught my attention for an hour. After which time I decided to give the long drive a miss.
Instead I headed for the local shopping centre, air conditioned - albeit at half power due to our power stations struggling with the relentless heat. Nevertheless it was cooler and I got all I had to do complete before heading back home. I'd had an early night after a friend of mine cancelled our Friday night plans due to duties in the field. He was a fire fighter who'd been out at the Bunyip
State Park all week, and with the extreme conditions he didn't finish until 10pm and was due on deck again by 7am. I thought about him as I drove home. The sun was merciless and the winds extreme.
The 4pm news reported the temperature had hit 46C (114.8F) and a number of serious fires had sparked around the state. I thought of my friend and wondered how he was coping. I was also in awe of the temperature; I'd never experienced it so hot before.
So I decided to go across to the lake near my home with my camera. The sky was starting to fill with smoke and the winds were thrashing the trees around.
The moment I stepped outside I could feel the pores of my skin perspiring, my throat became dry and my lungs shortened with each breath. The tree branches were being thrown around and some of the trunks creaked as they resisted the force of the winds.
I walked around and took photos of the smoke filled skies. The fires were at least 40 minutes from my home but the eeriness of the sky and the ferocity of the winds made it feel like they were much closer.
I stood in the heat imagining what my friend was experiencing. I was not near the fires, he was. I wore shorts and a t-shirt he wore full neck to toe protective gear, and a helmet. I stood and thought about how much more uncomfortable he would be feeling right now.
The heat became too much for me and I wandered dripping with perspiration back home. It was then I turned on the radio and the news reported the amazing scenes unfolding around the rural Melbourne
areas. There were raging fires in Kinglake, St Andrews, Steels Creek, Chum Creek, Marysville, Whittlesea and Gembrook.
Fireballs travelling over 70 miles per hour were reported down a main street in Kinglake. The driver of a mustang tried to out run it, but realising this wasn't going to happen he stopped his car and drove into the fire instead. Not stopping until he reached a point where the fire had started to burn itself out.
He had made a split second decision that saved his life and his passenger.
Most of the residents in Kinglake and Marysville had little or no warning as the fires raced from house to house, jumping the mineral earth lines that the fire fighters had put in place during the months of preparation. The devastation left in the wake of the fires was beyond the imagination of most experienced bush fire survivors.
The DSE (Department of Sustainability and Environment), CFA (Country Fire Authority) and other emergency workers put up a mighty fight and there were many situations where sheer luck kept them safe. Families raced for the dams which were all but dried up from the 10 year drought that Victoria is currently experiencing. One family survived by hiding in a large wombat hole. They huddled with wet blankets until the fire passed over them.
Another 19 people survived through the quick thinking of DSE workers who drove their trucks into a river at Murrindindi (near Yea) which was only knee high. They all huddled together, again with wet blankets over their heads as flames leapt onto the trees around the banks of the river.
Reports on the radio spoke of a farmer fighting the fire in his thongs (flip flops) and shorts, he suffered burns to 50% of his body. The news suggested he was a fire fighter. The news was terrifying, my friend was out there fighting a fire somewhere, I began to worry.
I could hear the fire fighting helicopters overhead as they transported water to the much needed blazes.
The eerie sound of the chopper blades coupled with the brown smoke made the fires seem even closer than they were.
One man reported hiring a helicopter to take him to assist his son fight the fire. The roads were dangerous, not only was there heavy smoke, but falling debris from the trees blocked many dirt tracks. There were exploding trees firing ember bullets at anything in its range. It was reported later that many were injured by these flying embers.
A man sported an eye patch where his eye was damaged by another of those embers.
I texted my friend, and was relieved when he replied an hour later that he was okay. He told me of the flames being huge and overwhelming.
He was exhausted but in good spirits.
He'd seen images he never wanted to again. The sorrow in his voice was obvious as he told me of some of those who hadn't survived.
Some tried to outrun the fire in their cars, but the smoke was so thick they crashed into trees, or in some cases another vehicle driving erratically just trying to survive. There was a five car collision on one bush road which gave none of the occupants a chance of surviving the fire.
My friend told me of 6 bodies he had to recover from a burnt out car. The devastation was obvious as I watched the evening news. The infuriating thing was a lot of the 200 fires that were burning on this Saturday 7th February 2009 were deliberately lit. Some of the fires had joined, and with the searing heat and the savage winds they became deadly.
There was a lot of wild life tragically incinerated too. There were a few feel good stories, like "Sam" the Koala who was photographed drinking water from a bottle whilst holding the Fire fighters' hand. But the papers reported 6000 cattle, sheep dead and 24,117ha of grazing pasture destroyed.
181 lives were lost, 450,000ha of land was burned out and 1830 houses were lost. It has been described as the blackest day in Victoria's history. There is one alleged arsonist in custody; I hope they catch the others so we never have a repeat of this tragic day.
True to our spirit all fellow Victorian have started to pitch in. We all feel a sense of wanting to do something. We want to help those directly and indirectly affected. Homes are being offered, cars donated, the Aussie spirit is alive and on full alert as we do what we can. It must be said that other states in Australia
are also contributing to this dreadful disaster, in the form of money, food and other donations.
Some are fostering pets temporarily who have survived but have no home to go to at the moment. All manner of goods are being donated, to the point where many warehouses are overflowing from the generosity of the public.
14,000 registered to donating blood for the Burns victims, on a regular day that number would more likely be 1400.
What amazing fire fighters we have true, these are the unsung heroes, the guys from DSE, the Volunteers of the CFA, a week later they are still fighting fires. My hat goes off to these heroes, they are truly brave and courageous men and women. Thank you on behalf of all Victorians. I am so proud of my friend and his fellow colleagues. I am also proud to be an Aussie, very much so right now.