Our front garden.
The back, up the side.
Blackened Grass Trees.
The pool!
Whats left of the BBQ, pergola and our rain forrest garden!Click on photos to enlarge.
This side of the black stump ... lies Laura's melted bike!
The contents of the shed - a puddle!
The shed.
The asbestos fence that expoded. We had to get this professionally removed and disposed of.The neighbors shell of a home in the background.
Top of the block, a nice ash pit!
Melted gutters and verandah, very close!
What is left of part of our block.
Clifton Hills alight. Taken 4pm.
Clifton Hills Kelmscott. 4pm.
The Helitacs flying over the houses.
Unfortunately this entry is not a pleasant one. We had the misfortune to be part of the worst fires in WA in over 50 years.
On Sunday the 6th of February, we had planned to have an afternoon at the Perth Zoo with Laura and some friends. We had packed the car with the picnic gear and we were just waiting for Amelia to wake so we could leave. While we were packing the car, we noticed a huge plume of smoke fill the sky just behind our half acre block, we could tell it was very close and David took the car around the corner to investigate. At the top of Bromfield Drive, just 2 streets away, the fire brigade were desperately trying to extinguish a fire that had started in bush behind the houses there. It was extremely windy that day and hot at around 34 degrees. The winds were gusting at over 70km an hour. Really, really bad weather conditions if a fire were to break out! The fireman David spoke to said to stand by, as they were still trying to get it under control. That was 12.30pm. The fire had started at 11.37am.
We watched as we listened to more and more fire engines race up the hill and the Helitacs also arrived, dumping water on the fire from the air. The smoke became heavier and closer and as David walked down the end of our cul-de-sac to have a better look, he noticed flames through the trees on the other side of Morrison Road - the road our street joins onto.
I was standing on the driveway with Laura as he yelled back that we need to get out of here.
It was 1pm.
The smoke seen from our driveway, just after the fire started.
I put Laura back inside the house, Amelia was still asleep. I grabbed Lauras kittens and put them in a cage. I called the Whippets from outside and put them in my car with the cats. I put Laura in Davids car with Amelia, while David grabbed all our photos.
At this point the sirens were so loud we couldnt hear ourselves speak. The smoke was heavy and we could feel the heat. As we pulled out of our short, normally quiet street, there were cars everywhere, already fleeing from the top of Morrison Road from the direction of the fire. Many people from our small community, including ourselves, had met down at the end of Morrison Road at a park on the flat. From here we all watched as Helitacs continuously flew back and forth collecting water from Champion Lakes and dumping it on the fire.
On Sunday the 6th of February, we had planned to have an afternoon at the Perth Zoo with Laura and some friends. We had packed the car with the picnic gear and we were just waiting for Amelia to wake so we could leave. While we were packing the car, we noticed a huge plume of smoke fill the sky just behind our half acre block, we could tell it was very close and David took the car around the corner to investigate. At the top of Bromfield Drive, just 2 streets away, the fire brigade were desperately trying to extinguish a fire that had started in bush behind the houses there. It was extremely windy that day and hot at around 34 degrees. The winds were gusting at over 70km an hour. Really, really bad weather conditions if a fire were to break out! The fireman David spoke to said to stand by, as they were still trying to get it under control. That was 12.30pm. The fire had started at 11.37am.
We watched as we listened to more and more fire engines race up the hill and the Helitacs also arrived, dumping water on the fire from the air. The smoke became heavier and closer and as David walked down the end of our cul-de-sac to have a better look, he noticed flames through the trees on the other side of Morrison Road - the road our street joins onto.
I was standing on the driveway with Laura as he yelled back that we need to get out of here.
It was 1pm.
The smoke seen from our driveway, just after the fire started.I put Laura back inside the house, Amelia was still asleep. I grabbed Lauras kittens and put them in a cage. I called the Whippets from outside and put them in my car with the cats. I put Laura in Davids car with Amelia, while David grabbed all our photos.
At this point the sirens were so loud we couldnt hear ourselves speak. The smoke was heavy and we could feel the heat. As we pulled out of our short, normally quiet street, there were cars everywhere, already fleeing from the top of Morrison Road from the direction of the fire. Many people from our small community, including ourselves, had met down at the end of Morrison Road at a park on the flat. From here we all watched as Helitacs continuously flew back and forth collecting water from Champion Lakes and dumping it on the fire.
Photo taken from inside our car, this was the evacuation point, the park on Ranford Road. Looking towards Clifton Hills.Then suddenly the wind changed direction. Previously it was blowing in an easterly direction away from us and our house. Now it was blowing westerly and north, towards our home, towards the park where we had evacuated to and towards Clifton Hills on the other side of the park. At this point the smoke became overwhelming and within seconds had engulfed the whole hillside and all that could be seen of Clifton Hills. We could see that there had already been homes lost.
Meanwhile, I am sitting in the Commodore with Laura and Amelia (who had to be breast fed in the front seat as she had woken and wasnt happy!) and David was parked next to me in the Baleno with the furries. Watching on in disbelief. Disbelief at how quickly this had all unfolded and disbelief that homes were being lost so quickly. Although we were close to national park and forrest, we never really considered ourselves to be in a fire risk zone, the area is still heavily built up.
It was now 2pm and we recieved a text from FESA telling us we needed to evacuate immediately! Too late, we were already long gone, we didnt need telling twice!
At 2.30pm we could see the evacuation point was becoming engulfed in thick smoke and at that point we realised there was nothing further we could do and decided to drive to Davids mum and dads. Our most important posessions with us in the cars - our family and memories. We left, not knowing if we would have a home to return to.
We arrived at Errol and Leonies to find the fire was being broadcast on every radio station and TV channel. The size and ferocity of the fire was now clear and already over 20 homes had been lost. We waited into the night to hear news of our home, to watch the FESA website, to hear the number of homes lost increase and to continually hear that the fire was out of control and there were not enough fire crews to cope. There was also a huge out of control blaze burning north of Perth near Muchea, where most of the fire crews were currently located.
The next morning we were none the wiser about whether we were homesless or not. Hundreds of people had been sheltering in 2 evacuation points in Armadale, also waiting to hear if their homes had been spared. Many people had only 20 minutes to pack up their belongings and flee the fire. Some had even less time and managed to save nothing but themselves. The fire was still burning out of control and more homes had been lost overnight in the Kelmscott and Roleystone suburbs. Stories were beginning to emerge of how close people came to losing their lives. Photos and media stories appeared in the paper the next morning. The devastastion was already apparent and yet the fire was still out of control and burning more homes. This was Monday morning.
By Tuesday the fire was finally under control. Two days after it had started. David and myself decided to go back to see if we could get into our street and assess the damage. As we suspected, the roads were all blocked off to anyone who did not stay and protect their homes. There was a forced evacuation on Sunday, with many people being arrested by police if they chose to stay. However, there were plenty who did get to stay and fight for their homes, despite police force.
The first two road blocks we encountered would not let us through. But we met up with an officer from main roads who for some reason, was kind enough to let us into our street.
We drove up Morrison road and turned into Cope Place. The house on the corner was intact. The next house however, our neighbors house, was not so lucky. It was nothing but a brick shell that remained. As we slowly drove past to our driveway we were met with a blackened front garden and our shed that had exploded (david had fuel in there!), all the contents a melted puddle on the floor. We could see our back gate was open and further up the block at the side, was completely burnt. We feared the worst as we pulled in the drive. We could see the front of the house was intact but had no idea what would meet us inside. We walked around the whole perimetre of the house and found all of the half acre block blackened and burnt, every tree dead, no bush left untouched. Our patio roof was melted, as were our gutters on the house. The pergola attached to the house was burnt, the shade cloth in dried melted blobs on the ground. The pool at the top of the block was drained and damaged, as was the wooden decking. Even the side fence (which we have since discovered is asbestos!) was burnt through and shattered all over the ground. The wooden fences down the bottom were also burnt though.
Meanwhile, I am sitting in the Commodore with Laura and Amelia (who had to be breast fed in the front seat as she had woken and wasnt happy!) and David was parked next to me in the Baleno with the furries. Watching on in disbelief. Disbelief at how quickly this had all unfolded and disbelief that homes were being lost so quickly. Although we were close to national park and forrest, we never really considered ourselves to be in a fire risk zone, the area is still heavily built up.
It was now 2pm and we recieved a text from FESA telling us we needed to evacuate immediately! Too late, we were already long gone, we didnt need telling twice!
At 2.30pm we could see the evacuation point was becoming engulfed in thick smoke and at that point we realised there was nothing further we could do and decided to drive to Davids mum and dads. Our most important posessions with us in the cars - our family and memories. We left, not knowing if we would have a home to return to.
We arrived at Errol and Leonies to find the fire was being broadcast on every radio station and TV channel. The size and ferocity of the fire was now clear and already over 20 homes had been lost. We waited into the night to hear news of our home, to watch the FESA website, to hear the number of homes lost increase and to continually hear that the fire was out of control and there were not enough fire crews to cope. There was also a huge out of control blaze burning north of Perth near Muchea, where most of the fire crews were currently located.
The next morning we were none the wiser about whether we were homesless or not. Hundreds of people had been sheltering in 2 evacuation points in Armadale, also waiting to hear if their homes had been spared. Many people had only 20 minutes to pack up their belongings and flee the fire. Some had even less time and managed to save nothing but themselves. The fire was still burning out of control and more homes had been lost overnight in the Kelmscott and Roleystone suburbs. Stories were beginning to emerge of how close people came to losing their lives. Photos and media stories appeared in the paper the next morning. The devastastion was already apparent and yet the fire was still out of control and burning more homes. This was Monday morning.
By Tuesday the fire was finally under control. Two days after it had started. David and myself decided to go back to see if we could get into our street and assess the damage. As we suspected, the roads were all blocked off to anyone who did not stay and protect their homes. There was a forced evacuation on Sunday, with many people being arrested by police if they chose to stay. However, there were plenty who did get to stay and fight for their homes, despite police force.
The first two road blocks we encountered would not let us through. But we met up with an officer from main roads who for some reason, was kind enough to let us into our street.
We drove up Morrison road and turned into Cope Place. The house on the corner was intact. The next house however, our neighbors house, was not so lucky. It was nothing but a brick shell that remained. As we slowly drove past to our driveway we were met with a blackened front garden and our shed that had exploded (david had fuel in there!), all the contents a melted puddle on the floor. We could see our back gate was open and further up the block at the side, was completely burnt. We feared the worst as we pulled in the drive. We could see the front of the house was intact but had no idea what would meet us inside. We walked around the whole perimetre of the house and found all of the half acre block blackened and burnt, every tree dead, no bush left untouched. Our patio roof was melted, as were our gutters on the house. The pergola attached to the house was burnt, the shade cloth in dried melted blobs on the ground. The pool at the top of the block was drained and damaged, as was the wooden decking. Even the side fence (which we have since discovered is asbestos!) was burnt through and shattered all over the ground. The wooden fences down the bottom were also burnt though.
The house beside us, the half acre block on the other side of us and the house behind us - had all gone up in flames. The huge Strelizia bush 2 steps away from the back door - now charcoal. As we continued wandering in shock, we realised just how close this fire had come to our home!
We went inside the house to assess any damage and thankfully, to our relief, there was only severe smoke damage and ash everywhere. The flames had left the house mostly untouched!
We still, one week later, cannot believe how close those flames came - even burning the gutters, surrounding properties, but leaving our home still standing. A huge thankyou to the fire fighters who apparently battled for a long time to save the house and to our neighbors who stayed to fight for their own home, but also extinguished spot fires that continually broke out on our block after the fireys had left. The neighbors even went to the trouble of siphoning our pool with a hose onto a huge eucalypt that kept igniting and threatenting to go up. According to them, the fire at our house started around 5pm, not long after we had left.
We were one of the lucky ones. Black Sunday, as the media have now named it, destroyed 72 houses and left at least 40 badly damaged. Kelmscott and Roleystone was declared a natural disaster area. Our area of Kelmscott - Cope Place, Bromfield Drive and Morrison road, was the worst hit. It is heartbreaking to drive around those 3 streets and see nothing but rubble, where once stood beautiful hills homes overlooking the valley, some with city and coastal views. Fortunately and incredibly, no lives were lost.
We went inside the house to assess any damage and thankfully, to our relief, there was only severe smoke damage and ash everywhere. The flames had left the house mostly untouched!
We still, one week later, cannot believe how close those flames came - even burning the gutters, surrounding properties, but leaving our home still standing. A huge thankyou to the fire fighters who apparently battled for a long time to save the house and to our neighbors who stayed to fight for their own home, but also extinguished spot fires that continually broke out on our block after the fireys had left. The neighbors even went to the trouble of siphoning our pool with a hose onto a huge eucalypt that kept igniting and threatenting to go up. According to them, the fire at our house started around 5pm, not long after we had left.
We were one of the lucky ones. Black Sunday, as the media have now named it, destroyed 72 houses and left at least 40 badly damaged. Kelmscott and Roleystone was declared a natural disaster area. Our area of Kelmscott - Cope Place, Bromfield Drive and Morrison road, was the worst hit. It is heartbreaking to drive around those 3 streets and see nothing but rubble, where once stood beautiful hills homes overlooking the valley, some with city and coastal views. Fortunately and incredibly, no lives were lost.
However, it seems the community spirit is still there. The offers of help and donations has been overwhelming.
It was found the cause of the fire was an off duty police officer using an angle grinder on a total fire ban day, the sparks igniting some dry grass. The fire burnt through over 480 Hectares. Incredible to think that this was what caused so much damage. I dread to think about the immense guilt he must be feeling now.
At this stage we are unable to go back to the house due to smoke damage and the block is very unsafe. We live on a steep block and because the terracing and all the trees root systems have burnt to cinders - there is nothing stopping a large mud and boulder lansdslide down into our home!
At this stage we are unable to go back to the house due to smoke damage and the block is very unsafe. We live on a steep block and because the terracing and all the trees root systems have burnt to cinders - there is nothing stopping a large mud and boulder lansdslide down into our home!
But we still have a house. We are undecided what our plans will be in terms of living arrangements (we are currently at Davids parents), but stay tuned. We have a few options!
The big clean up will now begin!
The big clean up will now begin!
1 comment:
A beautifully written story Catherine. It really made me understand how quickly it happened and how lucky your family were that you hadn't already left for the day. Our love and prayers to you and your family.
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