THE GHOST TOWNS LEFT BEHIND
THE CATASTROPHIC FIRES HAVE DESTROYED HOMES AND LEFT GHOST TOWNS IN THEIR WAKE
The catastrophic bushfires sweeping across Australia have become among the most devastating the country has ever seen. A ring of fire has been racing towards populated areas in NSW and parts of Queensland, with hundreds of homes destroyed, several lives lost and close to 1 million hectares – the equivalent to 1 million rugby fields – already razed. The highest level of “catastrophic fire danger” was unprecedented, particularly in Sydney, with fears the blazes will only get worse as Australia enters its warmer season.
The fires have been so extraordinarily ferocious, smog and smoke can be seen as far as New Zealand and the island of Vanuatu.
Photographer Martin Von Stoll, from Diamond Beach in NSW, captured the sheer horror and size of the bushfires in a breathtaking photo of his sons standing on the beach.
He also took pictures of burnt-out homes in his local area, utterly destroyed by the bushfires. It looks like an apocalyptic nightmare
– but it’s the terrifying reality everyday Australians are facing this season.
“My boys just happened to be playing around the shallow area of the water, and I thought, this could make an interesting shot,” Martin tells New Idea.
“It’s just nature at its worst. It’s angry and destructive, but at the same time it’s beautiful. It becomes mesmerising … I was just in awe of it.”
Martin lives 5km from the picturesque Diamond Beach on the NSW mid-north coast and says he and his family were preparing to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
“We’ve got our go-bags packed in cars, wetting down properties and just waiting and keeping an eye on it. We’re not in a position where we will try and save our home. Lives are more important,” he explains. After fires ripped through the small community of Rainbow Flat in Taree, Martin took his camera and captured the charred remains. “Empty roads that would normally be busy, represent a ghost town
with air filled with smoke,” Martin says sadly.
“We’ve never seen anything like this. It’s not normal. We’re only in spring, it’s not summer or the proper fire season yet.”
He adds: “The distressing thing too is that we are hearing the RFS is stretched to their limits. They’re exhausted, and they even said they are pushed to the extremes of their resources. We’re in real dire straits.”
Angelo and Chantal Fornasier fled their Rainbow Flat property last week just minutes before it caught ablaze. They returned home, devastated to find it had been reduced to ashes.
“There’s nothing here, it’s not the same,” Chantal told the ABC.
“I’ve got so many memories here, and now I have to rebuild.”
Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Bob Mey tells New Idea the bushfires, particularly in northern NSW, are the worst he’s seen in his 31-year career.
“This season has only just started and with 17 fires burning uncontrollably across northern NSW at the extreme level, that has already exceeded the previous worse at nine extreme state-wide fires. What’s happened in northern NSW … surely it can’t get any worse,”
Inspector Mey says.
He warns residents in areas at risk should be prepared to evacuate at any moment. “No-one can ever have enough resources when it reaches a catastrophic level, so it’s
“WE’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS ... IT’S NOT NORMAL”
important to be prepared, have a plan, and stay safe,” he adds.
Officials have also warned the worst is yet to come, with predictions the infernos will continue to rage across NSW and Queensland.
“It’s going to be a long, difficult fire season, and we’ve