We had a hairy Tuesday this week with the onset of a bush fire in the local nature reserve (which happens to be a two minute walk from our house!!).
The kids were off school yesterday and I was ironing when the sky went completely dark. 'It can't be the end of the world yet', I thought 'I haven't ironed the jeans!' The kids called me out into the garden and this was the sight that met me:
It was set off by arsonists (allegedly). Here's the online news article:
Tuesday March 25, 8:18 PM
Bushfire threatens homes south of Perth
A bushFire is threatening homes south of Perth.
The blaze broke out at the southern end of Scientific Park in Port Kennedy and is headed towards Secret Harbour Boulevard!!!!!
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority is encouraging residents to decide whether to stay and defend their homes or leave now.
Nearby residents are urged to close their windows and turn off evaporative air conditioners.
Port Kennedy Drive is closed west of Warnbro Sound Avenue.
More than 100 firefighters and 50 appliances are fighting the blaze.
Kevin Archer from the Fire and Emergency Services Authority says residents in Port Kennedy and Secret Harbour should wait for instructions from authorities before leaving their homes.
"We've had evacuate homes around Pulsano Mews," he said.
"The residents are assisting us there in protecting their own homes and have evacuated that immediate area."
We took the kids and watched the water bombing helicopters scooting around for hours; there were six in the air at one point along with countless numbers of FESA volunteers. They'd all come from miles around; some from suburbs miles to the north and east of Perth.
When darkness fell we could still see the flames over the top of next doors house (especially well when I bounced on the trampoline!). Paul took the kids out for a look-see in the car and the emergency services had set up camp in the carpark of a local store and they were co-ordinating the activities from there.
It was touch and go for a while as to whether we would be evacuated or not. We were lucky in that the wind was blowing out towards the sea. If it had changed, it would have made things very difficult. We backed up computer discs and made sure we knew where the passports were, but luckily we didn't need to pack up and ship out.
We got some fantastic photos of the operation though. They reloaded the helicopters from lakes throughout the estate. That was fun watching them do their stuff. I got completely drenched and had my hair blow dried to look like Marge Simpson.
The guys and gals at FESA do a remarkable job and worked all night to ensure that it was kept under control and we could all sleep safe.
