February 7 2012 – Remembering Black Saturday – Three Years On
February 7, 2012
Black Saturday - 3 years on Source: Australian Geographic
I still remember shock as I got out the car that Saturday morning. I remember the wind stinging my face and eyes. It was like an oven. Bentleigh, which was usually packed of a morning was near empty. Rubbish was flying around everywhere, I had never felt heat like this in my life. It was 48.8 degrees celcius, in the shade, at 11am.
Dad and I went home and vowed to never go out for the rest of the day.
Then we started seeing the bushfire reports on TV. It was the perfect conditions. We know when it’s hot and windy, to never light a fire. The news didn’t report the full scale of it. We thought we got off lucky.
Unfortunately when we awoke the next morning shrouded in a light smoke haze, the full extent of the situation was coming through.
173 people had lost their lives that day. It was a day i’ll never forget. It was a day Australia will never forget.
Jenn and I watched the documentary ’Then the Wind Changed’ tonight which was on ABC1. It was a emotional look back.
Below is Kinglake, a town that was all but wiped out, moments before the fires.
This is St Andrews, some of the only footage of the white ‘twister like’ flames reported.
Related articles
- Vic MPs remember Black Saturday bushfires (news.smh.com.au)
- Victoria remembers Black Saturday (news.theage.com.au)
- Flags at half mast for Vic bushfires (news.theage.com.au)
wow the pictures are unbelievable and the stories are tragic. I can’t imagine seeing that or having that happen to your country and knowing people that died. Thanks for sharing something so difficult with me. Do you have a email that I can send you private emails that are viewed on the blog??? Take care