My power only returned about 15 minutes ago – after 36 hours of no power, water, phone and sewers backed up everywhere ... I was about to go into my work, to get access to a hot cup of coffee and enough power to check to my e-mails etc, when the power returned.

The worst hit areas of the fires, were in my district – I live next-door suburb to Duffy – we evacuated along with everyone else in a calm controlled panic – one carload of several thousand fleeing for their lives – I'm still freaking in a quiet way.

I only saw TV news for the first time at my sister's place over north side late last night, it was much, much worse – worst in the nation's history, and no exaggeration, and a miracle that more lives weren't lost– as there were no warnings, there were no firemen ... (we found out later they had been caught on the other side of the fires when they jumped 5,10,15 km in a matter of minutes ...)

A cliche maybe – but it happened so fast...

All week, huge fires raging to the west of us in the mountains, about 50-60 km away – no great drama, pink/orange smoke haze casting peculiar light, eerie shadows – could look directly at the sun, a neon orange ball. Sorta alien and pretty in a way.  Saturday was no different – a bit windier perhaps, a bit smokier maybe – the shadows in the weird light and dimmed orange sun, maybe a bit more peculiar.

At noon – I was returning home from the nearby Weston RSPCA puppy classes and the car radio news mentioned briefly (about item number 3) – that the fires to the west of us had moved closer, about 25-30 km away and firefighters were stressed up in the ranges having been fighting all week to contain them.

At 2.30 pm – my daughter Kara returns home from work, we mention the strange eerie light as most people had done all week.  Still no concern – but we found out later, that some mild "alerts" had gone out at 2.30 pm – asking people in 23 suburbs to return home and make preparations, but no major panic – just a "precaution".

At 3 pm – I hear low-flying fire choppers and look outside and it is as black as midnight on a moonless night, the power flickers, the street lights come on – I wander outside to see what’s happening, its thick with embers, wind screaming – can't see a metre and start choking with the smoke – (I thought I must have blacked out or fallen asleep for about 8 hours it was so black, so sudden – there was no sun, there was not even so much as a pale spot where the sun should be) but at first I wanted to laugh at my neighbour panicking and soaking their house and hurrying their family in their car etc – we are relatively far in from the open bushland a few km away up the ridge above us – those up the hill backing onto the ridge behind us are in danger and then it will burn itself out – if it was a "normal fire" --- but it wasn't a normal fire ...

Until I turned around to look at the western ridge – that sight is burned onto my retinas ---- Holy F&*&*!!! I screamed – a huge wall of flames was racing down the ridge, less than a km away – and huge balls of fire - bouncing like a basketball down the hill...moving so fast ... bounce, bounce ... taking 5 houses here, bouncing another km to the north, then south, then east  – just bouncing and taking another chunk of neighbourhood on each bounce – just engulfing with a *whoosh*....then the explosions, one huge one like an atom bomb a few blocks away – (later found out it was a petrol station – that whooshed in less than 60 secs, taking a 4-storey block of flats with it) ... other explosions were cars, trees etc exploding.

Still there were no alarms – indeed, most of us were told to stay in our homes – I screamed at Kara to pack essentials in the car and we started hosing down the house – she called her fiance – he also lived nearby and was returning on the bus from his work after his workplace relayed an alert for his suburb.

He called to say he was dumped by the bus at a nearby shopping centre – and could go no further – so we were going to pick him up there.  My son and other daughter I thought would be safe on their side of town.  I rang my sister over north side and told her we were on our way just seconds before all the power went down, and phones and water. 

Still the radio was saying for people to stay home – but my entire street had all gone, and we joined the queue – only one road out still clear – and the fireballs were still bouncing, several kilometres inside the so-called "bushland outer suburbs" – then even the mobile phones went down – no signals, and network busy for the next 12 hours ... (the nearby mobile towers had whooshed) it quickly became clear that I wasn't going to get north side in a hurry – with only road out – but no phones made it impossible to get a message through to my sister – one road blocked – all street lights, traffic lights gone – unable to see more than a vague ember lit outline of the car in front or to the lanes each side – but the radio mentioned an evac centre nearby – so we headed there.

My son-in-law to be ... found his parents friends who he was living with at the evac centre – lost everything, so many, so many pouring in to the centre – people we know, families my kids have grown up with – 2 young women I've known since Kindergarten pour in – they had stayed in their house because the radio told them to, their parents at work couldn't call in or get their in time – they had run down the hill for their lives following fleeing cars when the fire-storm reached the house next-door –

5.30 pm – the light clears up – from midnight black to pinky/orange twilight – calls from my neighbourhood have said it’s eased, I choose to head back. Kara and Jessie are collapsed with his family – their whole street whooshed to ash in less than a minute –

I said I was going back to my place – by this stage I was frantic about looters as well – still no fucking phones to be had for love or money.  My son shows up however – he was on the bus to come over to my place to visit for the afternoon when the buses dumped him out at the nearby evac centre bus-stop! 

So my son and I head back to my house – my fence is scorched, and the entire neighbourhood is layered in ash – the bouncing basketball missed us – but still no phones etc – road-blocks everywhere – reports coming in of the bouncing basketball having moved further in to the east – shopping centres over 10 km from any bushland are exploding. The bouncing basketball has jumped 5, 10, 15 km across the city in each bounce flaring every ridge, hilltop and mountain to the south, and east of us. 

At 6 pm – I still can't get through by phone – my sister over north side must be frantic wondering where I am ... the traffic has eased. So Reubs and I head north to my sister's, since I can't call her I may as well tell her in person! She feeds us, but I head back and drive my son to his home which has power at least in a safe area.  Still can't get through to my daughter – but headed back to the evac centre to check with my other daughter and her fiance and his family.

The radio says the evac centre is being evacuated again to the east! The fires have jumped the freeway into the centre – the city-wide emergency defence force coordination centre itself is down! Also, 5000 people have poured into the centre in the hour I was away up north side! 

Couldn't get through on her phone, and thinking I'd never find them amongst a crowd of thousands either by 8 pm – and still worried about looters at my place, I finally get through a dozen road-blocks back to my place (Duffy the worst hit is next-door to me, and like hundreds of others I'm aghast at the devastation) – most of my immediate neighbours have returned by 8 pm, and so I went next-door to my friend and stayed with them glued to a tinny walkman radio until about 2 am, before trying to sleep.

Sunday – the neighbourhood is bad, – I meet up with many more driving around in a daze looking for a shop, a cup of coffee, fresh milk, bread –anything – power was out to about 10,000 homes over a wide section, and even those with power weren't open with so many in confusion and no communications – sewerage had gone, some backing up – no water – although some did – but filthy – phones are patchy – one house has a working phone, next-door doesn't ... mobiles are still all out over a wide section ...

I literally run into my other daughter at the nearest shopping centre with power – apparently, she had been freaking out and looking for me all Saturday afternoon/evening, returning to my house, obviously missing me on each pass through – and had stayed the night at a friend’s house nearby to mine! (I thought she would have been sensible and headed home to her place over north side which was safe, so didn't give her a second thought :) 

We spent Sunday buying some clothes for Jessie, crying with friends and neighbours, trying to find ice, petrol, cold drinks etc – but the entire district for many miles is down – and with so many affected, many workplaces even with power have no staff and are closed till further notice.

But anyway, power returned this morning, but its a sad place – there are still sirens and choppers screaming everywhere.

Mon, 20 Jan 2003

Julie Lewis, armchair feminist, Canberra

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It took many years for much of the Canberra bushland to recover. Many parts of the National Park bordering the western suburbs remain closed ten years later as the damage was so severe, from exploded rock escarpments and mountain earth-slides from the extensive deforestation.