Tuesday 3 October 2023 Coolagolite Bushfire

Unlike the 2019/2020 bushfire that had us on tenterhooks for 6 weeks as it slowly burnt to within 4kms,  this one came fast and passed through quickly, burning 80-90% of the property. 

The morning was temperate but the temperature rose quite steeply around noon to 32oC and the wind picked up.  G rang at 12.39pm to alert us a fire was headed our way.  We did the L version of leaping into action, and got busy putting sprinklers onto the most vulnerable (as in danger to the house) parts of the garden, turning on the dam pump to keep the garden water supply tank full, sweeping up leaves, pouring water into and all around the bags of horsepoo in the sheep race,  putting flammable stuff into the shed and house, hosing down the stable area and outside of the shed etc. Unfortunately the pump on the one of the house water tanks had ceased to work a few days earlier so we were unable to access that tank full of water and had to conserve the other big tank for the house sprinklers and that was worrisome.

Once we had done what we could to prepare (it was exhausting and we left lots more undone) we came inside and studied the fire map, wind forecasts etc (Windy had the wind coming from the NW but starting to curl to the S as it neared the coast)  and made the decision to stay and defend and made a plan. We continued to prepare – filling up buckets, tubs, bins and anything that would hold a decent amount of water and placed them around the inside and outside of the house (the former incase fire got inside the house and the latter for mopping up outside if we lost power or the plastic 5000gal garden water tank). 

2.51pm: we think the fire is approaching the top of Cuttagee Lake and it was time to don our firefighting outfits. Note to self for the future - ski goggles don't cut the mustard.

3.51pm: As per the plan when the first spot fire started in the garden, L went out and turned on the house sprinklers and I turned off the 2 sprinklers on the two dangerous garden beds (which would now be covered by the house sprinklers) and turned on two more that I had positioned earlier on the northwestern corner of the house and lawn and western sides of the garden.

4.18pm: With the house sprinklers on we look out through a watery cascade as the fire builds.

Luckily, for our peace of mind, the smoke was so thick that we couldn’t see the flames roaring up the gullies on either side of the garden, and so we felt quite safe and calm inside.

4.36pm:  The last of the fire was roaring through the forest behind the house. 10 or 20 minutes after that we felt safe to go outside and start mopping up. The horsefloat, upon inspection later, wasn't even heat damaged.

L turned off the house sprinklers as embers were no longer blowing our way and started putting out bits of fire near the shed. I checked the garden tank to find it only half full – the dam pump had burnt.  So we had to be even more careful with water.  I put out some fires in the garden, but left others to burn that weren’t so much of a threat to the house, ditto with the forest just over the fence from the house. 

Coming inside for a breather we were pleased to note that we still had power. That was to change around 1.00am when the power pole next door finally succumbed to the flames. 

Sadly, during our breather we noticed, through the drifting smoke, a glow coming from under the verandah of the house to the northwest of us. I vetoed L's idea of trying to go over - parts of the forest and paddocks were still blazing, a tree had fallen across our driveway and we could hear trees coming down all over the place - it was way too dangerous.  An hour or so later the fire took hold and by the time a helicopter arrived (around 5.45pm) with a bucket of water flames were already shooting out from under the roof. Another bucket was dropped at 6.01pm, to no avail. Our new neighbours who had only purchased the property 4 months ago, lost everything except an old caravan down on the lake shore. He is a FIFO and was in Darwin and she was there on her own and rightly fled, with just the cat and the dog, leaving behind the chooks and Lola, the pet pig, all of whom we later found out, miraculously survived and like our sheepies, are thoroughly traumatised but physically unhurt. What a horrible, horrible introduction to a tree and sea change.

7.53pm: Two of the big spotted gums in the bottom of the garden aglow. Even if we'd had the water to spare a garden hose would have made no impact.

7.53pm: Looking directly west across the top of our place.

7.54pm: The two spotted gums again and looking north across the valley to the neighbours. In the distance to the right of the glowing spotted gums are the smoke reflected, burning remains of the new neighbours oregon pile, shed and house.

The next danger was to be at 4.00am when a southerly wind change was forecast which could blow the fire back over us. So conserving water was a priority.

We spent the rest of that evening and night patrolling around the house and cleaning up more stuff on the southern side of the house and shed. The dilemma was what to do with leaves, branches and twigs that had fallen while the fire driven wind and flames that had swept past? I had a look around - the pile of butted logs (ready for splitting) were still burning just outside the garden gate so we just kept adding stuff - problem solved. 

As we patrolled and rested the frequency of trees crashing down all around us - out in the forest and in our paddocks and gullies - increased until it seemed that every 5 minutes another came down. We were especially tormented by the sound of the huge old habitat trees and their inhabitants falling down.  The house and earth vibrated when the biggies struck the ground - a flare up of fire marking the spot.  

Around 10.00pm, L feeling faint with hunger realised we hadn't eaten all day and microwaved a couple of frozen little quiches. I don't know how long he microwaved them for but the crust was like concrete - he bravely ate his and mine. I think they would have been more edible if we'd put them outside for the fire to heat up. :)

Sometime around midnight we heard machinery and went outside to find a big bobcat coming down the eastern neighbours track, clearing the track as he went. Behind him was an RFS truck followed by a Parks ute. The people in the parks ute stopped when they saw the house lights and came and checked we were okay, and they told us the fire had made it down to the Murrah and beyond. Over the next two days the bobcat had to come down the neighbours track 3 more times to clear it of fallen trees. I don't know how many times they had to clear the other tracks. 

Thankfully the wind change wasn’t as forecast and was just a gentle breeze so apart from falling trees,  we were safe. Thanks to the house sprinkler system we had installed after the 2019/20 fires the house was unharmed and filthy, caked in rapidly drying wet ash, and somewhat surprisingly the shed survived with only minor damage. L has declared our next big spend will be to install another water tank and the same sprinklers on the shed.