Man, it was bullshit. I was winding down at work yesterday as I started annual leave today. Just took a bite from my Chocolate Truffle Magnum when we got the call to wires down on Hawkesbury Rd. We were sent up from Penrith to Winmalee, but when we saw the smoke cloud we knew it wasn't just wires down! I can honestly say I have NEVER seen a fire move so fast!
We pulled up just shy of St. Columbas and in the time it took me to get the pump into gear 3 houses lit up like massive candles. It's a terrible feeling watching a house burn to the ground and all you can do is protect the houses on either side. The hydrants ran dry in about 10 minutes, and no matter how many trucks tried, nobody could get in front of this fucking fire. We rescued 2 chickens and a dog, which pissed in the truck.
Singles Ridge Rd, Beuna Vista, and Heather Glen Rds all got torn an absolute new one. The messages being sent were "House alight, 2 crews at work" 30 seconds later "House fully consumed, protecting exposures, water almost out". The footage on tv doesn't come close to relaying the destruction that has occurred. A conservative count would be 100 homes totally consumed. Houses are still burning now, and will be for a good while yet.
Well done to the RFS volunteer firefighters. I get paid to do this shit for a living so am sort of used to it (to a certain extent). A lot of these guys wouldn't have been anywhere near a fire front this intense and they held their ground in some absolutely bullshit conditions.
It is like a movie. Power lines down everywhere, smouldering ruins, cars abandoned on the side of the road, people crying. My heart aches seeing my neighbours like this.
Those that know me know that I wouldn't work in an iron lung, but to show how hard yesterday was I started the day at 84.4 kg's and after my shower at 0200 hrs this morning before bed I weighed 83.2 kg's.
Stay safe everyone and please help those that have lost everything.
