HELPLESS, BUT FAR FROM HOPELESS
When Tasman District deputy mayor Tim King fled his Eves Valley home, taking the most prized possessions with him, he was certain there would be nothing but charred ruins upon his return.
With several hours to prepare ahead of the evacuation, the farmer and politician managed to move his stock to safer pastures and, with the help of friends and neighbours, packed treasured family photos and kids’ videos before the looming firewall forced his family to go.
“Over that night, Gail and I resigned ourselves to not seeing our house again because it was pretty dramatic,” he admits to the Weekly.
“You could see it coming from behind the hill. Once we left there was really nothing else we could do over the next 24 hours,” he tells, saying neither managed to sleep that night.
“It was a huge sense of relief to find that we had something to go back to, thanks to the massive amount of work by the firefighters and helicopter pilots, and everyone who worked to support them.”
Mindful that others in the path of the blaze weren’t as fortunate, Tim (49) says the home he grew up in was spared by just metres.
“I’ve seen photos from 3am when it was at its height, and the burn marks from behind our house are just 10 metres from the back and much closer to the sleepout. It was right to the back of that. We’ve been phenomenally lucky.”
Despite only permitted a few hours a day to tend stock, Tim is full of praise for the generous and widespread support from those who have rallied despite facing destruction and loss.
“The support we’ve had from people and the way the community’s come together is amazing. There’s a constant stream of people going into the local rugby club every day, either bringing in goods or making sandwiches. So many people are putting in an effort behind the scenes to ensure that those on the frontline − who are doing such a good job on the helicopters, diggers, bulldozers and fire engines − are all fed, watered and looked after. It’s been a massive community effort and it’s been cool,” says the proud local leader.
“To think this time last year in Nelson we were dealing with Cyclones Gita and Fehi so we had floods, mayhem and chaos here for exactly the opposite reason. It’s bizarre.“