Bushfire Disaster
Bushfires swept through our small town last Thursday and Friday, after 2 days of 43C temperatures (that’s around 109F). About 7.30 Thursday night the CFA (volunteer fire brigade) came through and advised that the fire was at the bottom of our street, and if we were planning to evacuate this would be a good time to do it. About 9.30 they came through again and told us that what had been two fires had joined up, and were now one huge fire which they had no hope of controlling, and that it was not a matter of if but when it would come through.
After spending all Thursday night watching the line of red spreading along the whole of our eastern front, by 12.30 am all seemed to be quiet and we thought the worst had passed. However, on Friday morning we watched a growing pall of smoke to our north, then about lunchtime became aware that another lot was rising again from the east.
It very quickly became clear that would be a problem. Temperatures on Friday afternoon hit 47C (116F). About mid afternoon a huge pall of black smoke blotted out the sky and turned the sun to a blood-red ball, and embers started falling. Not much after that we had spot fires, and by the time we got water on the first one there were a dozen more. Within moments the bush along the edge of our property had erupted into a 20ft wall of fire. I got out at the last minute (stupid! but God protected me) but my friend’s husband stayed (I live in their granny flat.) For some hours I didn’t know whether the house was still here, or whether he was safe.
Praise God our house is safe, even though the fire burned right up to the walls, and more importantly all the people are safe. Our church hall is also safe, even though the bush all around it is burned. However, 29 houses have been lost in our community (which only had about 450 houses to start off with) - 9 in our street alone.
Whilst I praise the Lord and marvel at His deliverance for us personally, it is heartbreaking to drive down the street and see all the houses in ruins. I am, quite frankly, a mess. I keep bursting into tears or getting the shakes at the drop of a hat; every time I close my eyes at night I see red through the trees and have to open them to check whether it’s real; and the least noise at night has me checking both doors. One of the worst things is knowing that these fires were deliberately lit.
Please pray for me and for this community.
 View from my front door before the fire.
 What a difference a day makes - view after fire.
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