Go Welcome Hell on Earth!

“Hell and all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria … many good people now lie dead,” Mr Rudd said. “Many others lie injured.”

Well what a fortnight (2 weeks for the yanks) it has been. In this 2 part series I will be covering the extremes that is Australia.

After the record breaking temperatures of the past few weeks in Victoria and South Australia, Horror was unleashed in the worst Natural Disaster in Australias’ History.

Many of you would have seen flashed across your Television screens pictures of Australia on Fire, witnessed the events as they unfolded and were stunned to see the harrowing scenes as they happened. I was on holidays, visiting family and friends, having flown over the area just days before the fires, I sat glued to my sons television.

On the 7th Feb Victoria erupted into flames, so far 208 people are confirmed deceased either in their homes or in their cars attempting to escape and failing. Several town have been destroyed, raised to the ground by flames hot enough to melt the metal on cars and explode trees without ever touching them.

Matthew Klitscher from the Country Fire Service says the fires are unlike any he has experienced before.

“Like a bomb has gone off, it’s stuff that we’ve seen before, but obviously not not the scale it was,” he said. “Very disturbing to see houses and stuff like that where families had lost everything as well as people who had been killed and stuff like that, the actual scale of it is huge.

“There’s a lot of hurt people over there and it’s just pretty devastating, but we went over there to do a job and we did a job and we’ve come back safe, so, you don’t know what to expect when you’re going into that but once we got over that we knew what our job was.”

The Victorian Country Fire Authority was bolstered by 58,000 volunteer fire fighters (yes they volunteer for this), but still the fires came. At one stage a fire front over 20Km long was bearing down on farms and towns burning out of control as winds gusting up to 100km/h fanned them over the valleys. Thankyou CFA and all those who joined the fight, you are deserving of medals everyone of you. Thanks to Sky News for this footage.

The figures are astounding 1069 homes lost, 208 people gone and still rising, hundreds injured (many with burns to 30% of their bodies or more), 400,000 hectares+ burned and the number of the missing is still unconfirmed. The stories coming out are both Horrifying and Amazing, Tragic and Couragous, parents saving their children only to die themselves, entire families lost, people who stayed to fight trapped by flames and many trying to flee trapped in their cars as the fires raced acrossed to cut them off as the wind changed direction. It is a miracle more were not lost as there was little or no warning for many.

“We were on the south-west end of the house at the time, trying to put out the ember attack, and it just came with such a ferocity that it came across our trees,” said Mr Lynch, who suffered burns to his arms and neck. “We had to run probably 25 metres to get to the centre of the house and everything caught on fire including my hair, and any exposed skin just peeled off. So, that’s how hot it was.”

The images being flashed across the globe are like some far off war, not nature in all her glory.

What makes this tragedy even worse if that is possible, is that at least 2 were deliberately lit.

Yes 2 fires which killed and estimated 100 people were started by arsonists. With one arrest so far and he is in potective custody, because if he gets out the mob is at the ready and he will wish he was never born, such is the feeling of anger towards these individuals.

“Rubble, just rubble. The books were still there intact because it was so hot and they were still in the same position,” Ms Petkovski said. “I’ve only seen a few ornaments at home, a few trinkets. We found the fridge and the freezer, that’s it.” As we spoke, the anguish slowly crystallised into anger at those suspected of starting the fires. “It just breaks my heart to know it was deliberately lit,” Mr Petkovski said. “I have so little sympathy for the people that did this.”His wife agreed, saying “so many innocent lives have been burnt, so many homes have been lost just to get a kick out of starting a fire. It is just so pathetic.” Their neighbour Henry Kieldaska – whose house was somehow spared – had tears in his eyes as he told of his fury at arsonists. “I’m not a violent man by nature but I can tell you if I got my hands on them, they wouldn’t have a chance to say much,” he said. “They’d be screaming, and they’d be screaming for a long time.”

With the calls for donations going out across the country Australians have raised over 100 Million dollars, plus the overseas and corporate donations flooding in, not bad for a population of 21 million people, with cloths, food, tents, caravans, offers of accomodation, toys and all manner of goods flowing to those in need. The Charities have been overwhelmed by the response.

On top of the human toll is the animals both pet, livestock and wild life killed and injured. These poor critters have no voice to say help, yet many wild animals came out of the fires seeking help from fire fighters and volunteers. Not just Sam the Koala, but kangaroos, possums and all many critters, cute and cuddly and not so came looking for help.

“Some of the animals have been fortunate enough to race ahead of the fire, making it to water,” Ms Orr said. “But we’ve had situations, for example, where a lovely big female possum with a baby on her back has come ahead of the fire and had minimum injuries obvious to us, but has collapsed.”We’ve put that down to the intense heat and smoke inhalation.” Ms Orr says carers have no sense at this stage of how the region’s 3,000 koalas have fared. “There have been a few that have come into triage with smoke inhalation. “Yesterday, we were up in an area where there were green patches left and we only came across one koala that had collapsed at the bottom of a huge eucalyptus tree that hadn’t even burned. “This animal was on its back, splayed out, arms and legs, and it was just as though the intense heat and smoke inhalation had got to it.”

Vet’s have come from many corners of Victoria and other states to treat these animals free of charge from the family pet with burns to echidnas with burnt paws and noses, the response has been heart warming. Couple this with the donations of pet food, livestock feed and medications, it is amazing to see what we can do when the need is great. Many animals when treated will be given to foster families to be looked after until they are able to be returned to the wild if they can be.

In amongst the stories of horror and tragedy miracles surface and this is no different.

This will go down in the stuff of legends becoming known as the “Doghouse Miracle” The story goes like this: Mr and Mrs mortimor were out for the day when the fires hit. They asked neighbours to get their dogs, but the neighbours didn’t have time. Mrs Mortimer began to have a breakdown when they found their dogs had probably perished. However 48 hours later, reports started of a house with dogs barking madly inside, as people went to investigate, they found a shed on fire, putting this out saved a row of houses and Mrs Mortimers dogs. All are recovering well from their ordeal.

As these fires took hold in the south in the country the North was being flooded, today we have 3 States underwater Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia all drowing in metres of water. As I left New South Wales, My sons town was flooding and within hours of him returning home the town was cut off, but thats another story.

Donations can be made at the Red Cross Website

Victorian ‘Black Saturday’ Fires.