Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Ex-pat Dave stunned by ‘tragic’ bushfires
An Airdrie ex- pat admits Australia is living in fear as bushfires continue to cause devastation across the vast country.
Dave Walker, 53, left Monklands to go Down Under in 1996 and now lives on the Sunshine Coast.
From his home in the Northern Territory city of Darwin, Dave has watched TV reports in horror, as properties near his former house were destroyed.
Dave’s daughters live in Brisbane, and the concerned dad has looked on as the fires rip through New South Wales and parts of Queensland.
He says everyone in Australia is prepared for “extreme weather conditions”, but has been stunned by the impact of the fires, which began in September.
“The impact has been catastrophic”, he told the Advertiser.
“Watching places near where I lived on the Sunshine Coast become engulfed really brought it home.
“My two daughters are far enough away from the fire, just because of the sheer scale of the country and the bush.
“When you see places like Sydney with smoke and haze over them it shows how close it is coming to the big cities.
“Then you start to worry about the air quality and how that could affect everyone.
“Everyone has to have an evacuation plan in place and decide if they are going to leave behind their home; everything they own.
“They don’t know if they will come back to just bricks and ashes.
“It’s impacting hundreds of thousands of people and the slow burn has caused the death of 500 million animals. Koalas are just hanging on to trees, or jumping from tree to tree; it’s tragic.
“We had a local firefighter travel down to Queensland from Darwin to help and they are just exhausted. They are trying everything.
“Everyone is ready to be evacuated.” While travelling to work, Dave came close to the fires and feared that he would be stranded in the bush.
He said: “I was going through the bush and it was such a big, vast area, but there were fires on either side of the highway.
“So I’m driving through at 130kmph, which is the speed limit here, but I got nervous looking around.
“I was worried that the car would just stop and I’d be stuck in the middle of the bush with fires all around.
“I take water, food and other supplies when I travel now. Everyone is worried and has some form of an evacuation plan ready for extreme weathers.”
Dave has had many friends and relatives reach out to make sure he is safe.
He says he has been touched by the support, and encouraged locals to donate to help those impacted.
“It’s amazing that in times like these everyone in Australia pulls together,” he continued.
“It’s quite like Scotland in that way. “Seeing the number of donations that have come in is incredible.”
To find out more, visit www.gofundme. com/f/68x9a9-bushfire-traumamentalhealthsupport- ongoing? utm_ source=customer&utm_medium=copy_ link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet or https://www.wires.org.au/