Wildfire devastates Australian tourist spot
A DEVASTATING wildfire in Australia left an “apocalyptic” trail of destruction and brought a sudden end to Christmas celebrations for thousands of holidaymakers along the famous Great Ocean Road, a popular tourist and surf strip.
The 2,200-hectare blaze wiped out nearly a third of homes in the seaside hamlets of Wye River and Separation Creek and is expected to continue to burn across southern bushland in the state of Victoria for weeks or months.
Thousands of residents and tourists were forced to evacuate the area as thick columns of smoke filled with embers and debris blanketed towns along the narrow road that hugs the rugged coastline south-west of Melbourne.
Lesley and Tony Maly, who lost their home in Wye River, said they were told to evacuate shortly after they put a turkey in the oven for Christmas lunch.
“It was like the apocalypse,” Mr Maly told The Age . “It was like the world had come to an end. The colour of the sun itself was a bright orange. The first house that went up was right next to mine. Thirty minutes, it was gone ... then the other house next to mine lit up, and I knew mine was gone.”
In Wye River, about 98 homes were lost – about a third of the town – and another 18 houses at Separation Creek. Tom Jacobs had been preparing to eat lunch with his parents in Separation Creek when they found themselves fleeing for their lives. “The smoke kept on coming up bigger and bigger and then it turned into a war zone with four choppers bombing directly overhead,” he told The Herald Sun. “It had all been perfectly fine and then it went dark and it was like volcano skies.”
His family lost a goat, several sheep and a shed but the house was intact.
The blaze, caused by a lightning strike and fuelled by hot temperatures and strong winds, was one of the worst in the state since the Black Saturday fires in 2009 which killed 173 people and destroyed 2,000 homes.
Daniel Andrews, the state’s premier, said: “It will be a very difficult few days, indeed many weeks, for those who have lost their homes.”
Firefighters said rain and cooler temperatures had eased conditions but warned that spot fires posed a continuing risk. Several firefighters were injured but there were no fatalities.
“It’s only through people making smart choices… the work of our emergency services fighting the fire, and all of our other partners that we have had [no] loss of life,” said Mr Andrews.
Insurance firms said the fire had caused about £20million worth of damage.
Seven people in Australia have so far died during wildfires this year.