- Title: Stay or leave: Australians caught in bushfires grapple with difficult decision
- Date: 23rd December 2019
- Summary: WOLLONDILLY SHIRE, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 22, 2019) (REUTERS) HELICOPTER FILLED WITH WATER TO DUMP ON FIRES LIFTING OFF FROM GROUND HELICOPTER FLYING OFF NEW SOUTH WALES VOLUNTEER FIRE-FIGHTER USING TORCH ON BUSHFIRE VARIOUS OF FLAMES AND SMOKE SUN SHROUDED IN BUSHFIRE SMOKE GLARING VARIOUS OF LOCAL RESIDENT DIANNE BAXTER HOSING HER GARDEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, DIANE BAXTER, SAYING: "I think our families were worried, they wanted us out. But, we just feel at this time in our life we needed to stay with our home. Yeah. And (we) had no real inclination of getting out. We were packed ready to go but when it was too late, the decision was already made. We needed to stay." VARIOUS OF LOCAL RESIDENT DIANNE BAXTER HOSING HER GARDEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, DIANE BAXTER, SAYING: "Just got the hose out and hosed down everything we possibly could to the best of our ability. Because, being on tank water we don't have good pressure, we only have pumps, and if our pumps, if our electricity goes out, we have no electricity to pump the water anyway so we are not in a good situation here." DIANNE WATERING GARDEN AUSTRALIAN FLAG FLYING IN DIANE'S FRONT YARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, DIANE BAXTER, SAYING: "At the end when it became very, very dangerous, they got a strike force together and they all took off to the bottom of the road down here, which is where they got in to put the fire out. And helicopters, police, they've done an amazing job." LOCAL RESIDENT, MATTHEW DOYLE TAKING MOLLY THE CAT OUT OF CAR MOLLY LOOKING THROUGH CAGE DOOR DOYLE UNLOCKING DOOR AND GOING INSIDE HOUSE WITH MOLLY MOLLY WALKING FREELY IN HOUSE VARIOUS OF LOCAL RESIDENT, FIONA BARRY WATERING HER HERB GARDEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, MATTHEW DOYLE, SAYING: "Look, yeah, I mean like, I guess I was pretty nervous. I mean, especially recently moving in, you don't really know what to expect in terms of fire. My gut feeling would be to stay. You know, like this is what you own, you want to protect it, sort of thing. And, you want to help others out. I guess that's a big draw card for me to stay, but at the same time, you've got to realise at the end of the day it's just not worth it. You can replace everything, except for your lives so, I mean, that's why I made the decision to leave on Saturday." VARIOUS OF MATTHEW DOYLE AND PARTNER, FIONA BARRY WORKING IN THEIR GARDEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, FIONA BARRY, SAYING: "Yeah, it's pretty awful, isn't it? We've just moved into this community and just getting to know people. It's really sad." (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOCAL RESIDENT, MATTHEW DOYLE, SAYING: "Yeah, it's obviously not ideal. You know, you feel cut up that, you know, that's happened to other people. And we've been probably very lucky for this house because, it's just that the wind has changed at the right time and it's taken the fire away. Like, half an hour later we may not be here, or the house may not be here." WOLLONDILLY SHIRE, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW) RURAL FIRE SERVICE COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICER, ELIZABETH ELLIS, GETTING INTO VEHICLE ELLIS DRIVING VEHICLE VIEW OF ROAD FROM FRONT WINDSHIELD (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW SOUTH WALES (NSW) RURAL FIRE SERVICE COMMUNITY LIAISON OFFICER, ELIZABETH ELLIS, SAYING: "Your house has to be prepared, but, you have to be prepared. And, you have to be prepared physically and mentally to be able to withstand the onslaught of a fire. So, and everybody in the household has to be prepared to do that, because the worst thing you can do is take a run for it at the last minute." VARIOUS OF BURNT HOUSES BURNT BICYCLE LYING ON GROUND BURNT FENCE AND GRASS IN FRONT OF HOUSE
- Embargoed: 6th January 2020 06:01
- Keywords: Australia New South Wales bushfires environment fire natural disaster wildfires
- Location: WOLLONDILLY SHIRE, AUSTRALIA
- City: WOLLONDILLY SHIRE, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wildfires/Forest Fires,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001BB72N2F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It was oppressively hot, above 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), and the wind was picking up. Bushfires were devastating nearby towns and now threatened Yanderra, a small town in Wollondilly Shire, located south of Sydney with just over 600 people.
Diane and Ron Baxter bought a block of land in Yanderra 43 years ago. They have since built a house and a life, raising two children including a daughter who now lives next door with her husband and four sons.
As smoke filled the sky on Saturday (December 21), and fire embers fell nearby, the Baxters chose to stay rather than doing what their family wanted them to do - leave.
"I think our families were worried, they wanted us out. But, we just feel at this time in our life we needed to stay with our home and had no real inclination of getting out. We were packed ready to go but when it was too late, the decision was already made. We needed to stay," Diane said.
Diane Baxter said she and her husband, both in their 70s, couldn't fathom having to rebuild their home, so they stayed to defend what they could.
Fire is a pervasive danger in Australia, although many people choose to stay to defend their properties at considerable risk.
By patrolling their homes, people can put out sparks and embers before they take hold as they likely would in a building left vacant.
Matthew Doyle and his partner, Fiona Barry from the nearby town of Bargo, left their new home on Saturday as the heat intensified and fire approached.
He said that while his "gut feeling" was that he should stay, he decided it wasn't worth the risk.
"You can replace everything, except for your lives so, I mean, that's why I made the decision to leave on Saturday," said Doyle.
Fire authorities understand some people will want to defend their homes and have developed check-lists which include having protective clothing and the correct firefighting equipment, along with adequately preparing homes.
"Your house has to be prepared, but, you have to be prepared. And, you have to be prepared physically and mentally to be able to withstand the onslaught of a fire. And everybody in the household has to be prepared to do that. Because the worst thing you can do is take a run for it at the last minute," NSW Rural Fire Service liaison Elizabeth Ellis said.
The scorching heat from the weekend has subsided, and authorities are using the cooler conditions to strengthen fire containment lines ahead of the next heat wave, forecast to hit Australia's southern states late in the week.
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