After the fires all of Canberra seemed shocked. 4 people had died and about 500 homes severely damaged or destroyed. As Canberra was still a smallish place everyone knew someone who had been affected. Everywhere you went, including shopping centres, people stood around in somber groups, quietly discussing what had happened. Often you would see people hugging and comforting each other.
I slept in on the morning after the fire, completely exhausted from the day before. When I finally got up it was to discover that my husband had already been out early and had stocked up on bottled water and bags of ice so that we could salvage some of the food from the fridge. He had bought enough to help our neighbours as well. Also he thought to buy fresh croissants and bread so we had a delicious start to what was a fairly grim day.
The sky was a murky brown for some days to come. It was still hot but we couldn't open the windows because of the strong smell of smoke and of course the power was off so there was no airconditioning. We were able to use our BBQ to heat water and to cook as many of the contents of our fridge and freezer as we could before they went off.
The sewerage treatment works had been severely damaged and Canberrans were asked to minimise using showers and washing up water. As well toilet flushing was to be minimised and jokes were being made about 'If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down!' I heard of quite a few people who even dug toilet trenches in their backyards.
Eventually on the day after the fire we went up the back of our place. We are on the edge of the suburb and the land behind our place goes all the way down to the Murrumbidgee River. Beyond that are the Brindabella Ranges. As far as the eye could see was devastation. Black, burnt, stark, still smouldering land. There was a huge gum tree on the crest of our hill and it was a 20 ton glowing ember. Every so often you would see the burnt corpses of kangaroos. It was horrible and so depressing we came back inside.
J and A went to his place in Belconnen where J stayed for a couple of days. The power came back on at 7pm on the first day after the fire - the technicians must have worked like crazy because the infrastructure had been severely damaged. Other places weren't as lucky as we were, it depended on how bad the damage was in that area.
We didn't 'spectate' in the most severely affected suburbs such as Duffy, Chapman or Rivett. The residents who had lost their houses resented being gawped at although they did appreciate the many people who delivered cold drinks and packs of sandwiches.
You couldn't help seeing the damage though. The randomness of the damage was mind blowing. In our suburb of Kambah you would be driving along and suddenly there would be a house burnt to the ground in the middle of a street of houses. The giant fireballs had bounced over the hills and consumed whatever they landed on. Even the fire station was burnt to the ground.
There was much to be saddened by. So many peoples' lives had been wrecked. The veterinary clinic and kennels where we had boarded our dogs was destroyed. The staff there was traumatised as they had to run for their lives leaving all the animals including their own pets behind.
The local ABC radio station became a sounding board for the community. We heard many many sad stories but also stories of great heroism and lucky escapes.
We managed to track down a friend who had lost her house in Duffy and it became part of our own healing helping her. We managed to get her some furniture and bought bits and pieces to help with daily living. She and her family scoured the burnt out wreck of their house and were delighted to discover that a pot with some goldfish had miraculously survived in the garden.
We put big tubs of water up the back for any creatures that needed a drink. Also the Wanniassa shops gave me lettuce leaves and fruit that they couldn't sell, which we put out for the animals and birds that had managed to survive.
For a long time L felt stressed driving down the Tuggeranong Parkway as she kept remembering seeing all the smoke and flames not knowing what awaited her at home because she couldn't see that far. It was a scarred landscape for a long time.
We used to have an echidna visit our place. I was always happy to see him patrolling because I figured he would find any termites before they found us. Unfortunately we never saw him again after the fires. Also we didn't have any bees visit our large garden for several years.
Ten years have passed. Homes have been rebuilt and people have accumulated possessions, often wondering how their houses have filled with so much 'stuff'. The trauma of the fires ruined some relationships and strengthened others.
Our garden has grown and is better than ever. It is filled with bees and other insects as well as a large variety of birds who visit regularly. We have many blue tongue lizards and skinks in the rocks as well as the occasional unwelcome visitor such as snakes. The trees, bushes and grasses have returned up the back and the big gum tree which was the massive ember has four 'babies' growing from the root stock. Mobs of kangaroos have returned to the hills and are in great numbers because we have had a few years of good rain. Unless you are observant you would never know that a huge fire had passed through.
Lessons have been learned. Fires will come to our region again for sure, but hopefully they won't be as destructive and hopefully people will be more informed and prepared.
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