Tasmanian Bushfires
The ABC, Australia’s larger government-owned public broadcast channel, has been keeping us up to date with the bushfires.
A facebook page has been set up to help facilitate things like donations and locating people: see Tassie Fires – we can help.
Our thoughts are with everyone in Tasmania at this time, especially those directly affected. Tasmania is such a small place that whenever a community tragedy strikes like bushfires or the Port Arthur massacre, the ripples affect everyone. Tasmanians who aren’t directly affected will never be more than two steps removed from those affected.
Edward’s family is located in Hobart, my family in the larger Hobart/Margate area and around St Helens and Scamander, so it looks like they should all be safe. I feel for those who’ve lost their homes.
When I was pregnant with Daniel I was ill and taken to hospital (one of many occasions). On the day of the bushfires that summer, I lay in the Parenting Centre with my blood pressure slowly going down, watching the smoke from the bush fires out the window, planning how I’d spend the insurance money after our house burnt down. There were things that I’d be very sorry to loose, that could have been collected with just one car trip but Edward didn’t drive back then and besides everyone was safe and away from home.
Then my sister rang the hospital to tell me Edward and a friend, Lesley, had gone home to rescue some of our stuff.
My blood pressure went straight through the roof and I was admitted to hospital. I wanted to wring their bloody necks! They learnt their lesson, though, they had a serious fright when they realised they’d stayed too long and they were there alone with the bushfire bearing down on them.
We were lucky. The bushfire passed within a few hundred metres of our house. It was a pretty good year, really, with bushfires coming very close but firefighters managing to protect most homes.
My thoughts are with all of you in Tassie and those with families who are affected.
