Fiery Days

So this is late. I had intended to write this yesterday but after Tuesday, I just needed the time to regroup. Yes, fires have hit Perth. Only a small one but after the Eastern States fires in 2019/2020, bushfires are big news over here. Therefore, there were more than a few friends (and, I’ll admit) family who were concerned, if not to say, worried.

The first we knew of it was at 5.30am on Tuesday morning, 2 Feb 2021 when friends rang Stu’s mobile. We didn’t get to it quick enough but they left a message saying they were being evacuated. Smart people, they left early.

For those who do not know, the area the fire is covering is very inaccessible. I remember, when I was in the Swan Communications Brigade, that we lost an East Swan Brigade Light Tanker because the brakes gave way and it careened down into a gully. Luckily the two fire fighters had left the truck to work with the hose so they survived. But back to this fire.

There are 4 helitacs (water-carrying helicopters) and at least 1 bomber fighting the fire. The converted 737 arrived in Perth on Monday night so that has been working all day yesterday. I have a friend who was right on the borderline of yellow and red all day yesterday and Monday – in other words, red is the evacuation zone – but got up this morning and the red seems to have gone north of them. So I’m happy that currently they are safe.

North of the fire, there is a settlement called Shady Hills. As the winds are currently Nor-Easterlies, I think this settlement may be impacted today. We can only hope for rain or a wind shift. On Monday night, they managed to get quite a bit of the fire out and it only had one running fire edge. This morning, it has ramped up again because we had very high winds overnight. I can only hope that everything turns out well and that Shady Hills survives. We have been getting our information from http://www.emergency.wa.gov.au and http://www.bushfire.io.

On to other news, we have a release date for Heart of Deception: 9 August 2021! I’m so excited that this one is coming out!