Fire burns quake-hit home to the ground
After the earthquakes, Alistair Edwards’ historic home was so damaged it was uninsurable. Now, it’s gone forever, along with 120 years of history and everything he and his family own.
Edwards’ face tightens with the strain of holding back the emotion. Having watched the fire advance for three days, he knew if it jumped to his side of the valley their place would be gone.
But yesterday morning, he and daughter Daisy crossed the Hoon Hay Valley Rd cordon for the first time, to see what the firestorm had made of the old quarry master’s cottage they called home.
‘‘There’s nothing left of our place at all. The fire was so intense that it has melted aluminium. All the native forestry we’ve planted down there is severely compromised.’’
A bit of burned tin remains that used to be the barbecue.
While the earth’s ashen coat suggested the fire had done its worst, appearances could be deceptive, Edwards said.
‘‘The heat is still coming off the ground. It is dangerous.’’
His wife’s family’s historic farm was also up the valley road. Gone, too, are the original farmhouse belonging to her grandfather, the cottage, shearing sheds and other structures.
The family had 20 minutes to get out. They saved passports, some insurance details, a couple of photos, and some sports gear. And what have they lost?
‘‘Everything. Everything. 150 years of history.’’
They considered trying to clear the house out before the fire did. They decided it wasn’t worth it.
‘‘The last thing we wanted was like 20-plus people to try and evacuate a house and put them at risk. We made the decision, it’s possessions. People are more important than possessions and, quite frankly, that’s it.’’
While the home’s contents were insured, the house was not. It had been deemed uninsurable after earthquake damage. Where does that leave them? Edwards laughed ... ‘‘There’s a Subaru over there’’.
‘‘It leaves us with friends and family who are helping us and the local community, who are just awesome.’’
Edwards said his heart went out to the family of helicopter pilot Steve Askin, who died trying to fight the fires.
He paid tribute, too, to the ground fire crews, pilots, digger drivers, and tanker drivers, whose ‘‘phenomenal’’ work had prevented further damage.
While mental health advocates have reported fire stress was retraumatising those who had experienced the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, Edwards said this was different.
‘‘The big difference for us, and I assume for the other 10 families [whose houses have been destroyed], would be that this time you can’t go back.’’