At 10:15 am, my youngest daughter Gemma-Rose appears in the living room where I’m keeping track of the bushfire activity near us. (Through the window, I can see the fire trucks and other vehicles arriving and leaving our road.)
”You slept in for a long time,” I say. “You must have been tired.”
Gemma-Rose nods. I understand. Living with a bushfire in our village is exhausting.
”I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I say. “While everyone was asleep, I was awake having a fire adventure. Do you want to hear about it?”
Gemma-Rose settles next to me on the sofa to listen to my latest bushfire story. It goes something like this:
Last night at 1:27 am, I woke up when my phone vibrated with a notification from the RFS (Rural Fire Service).
There is a new fire in your watch zone.
I followed the link to the Fires Near Me app and discovered there was an out-of-control bushfire burning in Frodo St. Frodo St is the road next to ours. It’s just over our back fence. I hurriedly checked all the relevant websites for more information, but I couldn’t find any more details. I then returned to the Fires Near Me app and saw that the fire was described as being 0 km away from our home. So I concluded it was burning within sight of our house. Maybe instead of searching online for more info about the fire, I should just go and look out of the window.
So I got out of bed and looked out our bedroom window. But instead of looking towards the back garden, I got distracted by an orange glowing light coming from the opposite direction. What was it? I went out the front door and padded barefoot along the road towards the park to investigate. Oh my, a huge area of the bush was lit up by a burning fire. Were we in danger? What should I do? There were no fire trucks around and everyone but me was in bed fast asleep. No one seemed concerned. Should I just go back to my bed and not worry? Yes.
But as I came through the front door, I remembered the Frodo St fire. I walked through the house to the family room which is at the back of our house and peered through the window. I couldn’t see anything so decided to go back to bed to think about my next move. On my return journey through the family room, I walked into something in the dark. I made a bit of noise and our dog Quinn barked. But no one woke up to see what was going on.
Back in bed, I checked the Fires Near Me app again, and it wasn’t long before the fire icon for Frodo St disappeared. All was well. Except I was now wide awake. Being on fire duty in the middle of the night isn’t good for sleep.
We survived the night. The fire on Frodo St had been put out. No fire came roaring through the bush near the park. But that wasn’t the end of my fire adventure.
The next morning, as I stepped out of the shower, I heard a siren. A fire vehicle was racing along our road. As I stood dripping on the bath mat, I shouted, “It’s not fair! I don’t even have time to get ready for the day before I’m back on fire duty. If there’s an emergency out there, it can happen without me. I’m not going anywhere!” I continued getting dressed and then I dried my hair. I took my time.
Later, I saw seven fire trucks heading to our park. I decided to walk down the road to see what was happening. I stood at a distance from the trucks not wanting to get in the way of the firefighters. But a fire commander who was leaving the park stopped his car so he could give me the latest update. He told me to expect a lot of activity in the bush near us but not to worry. The fire was burning, but they had everything under control.
I stop my story at this point. “So today, there’s nothing to worry about,” I tell Gemma-Rose. “All’s quiet on the fire front.”
But I can’t help thinking: what if things weren’t quiet? What if the Frodo St fire had come over the fence and threatened our home? What if the bigger fire in the bush had been on its way to meet us? If I’d been asleep like all my family and neighbours, it might have been too late. I don’t suppose the RFS would have let any of us sleep through an emergency situation, but my imagination doesn’t consider that. I say, “It’s just as well you have a mother who’s always on alert. Mothers are always on duty, even at night.”
And that’s true, isn’t it? Mothers sleep lightly and are ready at any moment to respond to an emergency. It doesn’t matter whether we’re looking after sick or restless or frightened children or watching out for a bushfire, mothers shake off sleep and roll into action. We’d do anything to comfort or protect our kids (and other members of our family).
Giving up sleep is, of course, tiring. I feel exhausted. But that’s okay because Gemma-Rose says, “You must rest today, Mum. We’ll look after you.”
I decide to take Gemma-Rose’s advice. I lie on the sofa and read and doze and read. And I don’t think about the fire. Until there’s a knock at the door. A firefighter is outside.
“I’m just giving you a courtesy call,” he says. “Keep an eye on the fire situation and the weather and ring 000 if you spot a fire burning. Embers might blow in from the fire front.”
So I’m back on fire duty.
Before he moves on to the next house, the firefighter asks, “Do you have a swimming pool?” We don’t. Later, I notice our neighbour has a new sign on her fence indicating that she has a pool full of water. Water supplies for firefighting must be getting low.
It’s been extremely smoky all day and the light is brown. There is ash everywhere and burnt leaves are blowing towards us from the bush. Can I admit that I’m a bit tired of breathing smoky air? I’m fed up of the whole bushfire situation. I just want life to return to normal. I bet the firefighters want to return to their normal lives too. They must be exhausted.
You know what? I think I’ll stop complaining.
Something Extra
We haven’t been able to spend much time outside recently because of the smoke. And we haven’t been able to go too far from home. So the other day, in order to entertain ourselves, Andy and I decided to make some vlogs. Yes, we’re vlogging from the danger zone! The vlogs are very short: 60-90 seconds. You can find them on Instagram and Youtube. I might put them on Unschoolgram too when I have more time. Here’s one of our vlogs. It’s about keeping our sense of humour in order to survive this difficult time.
Photos
I took these photos on Boxing Day. Andy, Duncan, Callum, Sophie, Quinn and I took a walk to the village RFS station. The firefighters were preparing for another day out in the field.
Update
That was yesterday’s bushfire story. Today, conditions have deteriorated again. This afternoon, the fire is expected to spread south to our local town. Andy has just gone to town to pick up Gemma-Rose from work. Soon Imogen will be coming home too. I’ll be happier when everyone is back together.
Thank you
A big thank you for your comments and messages. I’m sorry if I’m slow to answer them. Some days I find it difficult to focus on anything but the fire updates. I appreciate every comment and prayer. Please know they mean a lot to me. I hope things calm down soon so I can catch up with everything.
We’ve had a couple of scares over the years here in Texas because we’re surrounded by land covered in mesquite in our rural area. Mesquite burns very fast and quite well, one year I was outside with a garden hose just keeping the dry summer grass wet as the firefighters were extinguishing the fire all night. Before they got here we had a huge orange glow across the road from our manufactured home, those burn easily if they catch fire! We have a neighbor who isn’t very safe burning trash, they burned their house down last year. I understand your bush fire watch adventure very well, I’m glad you’re safe now and will pray for your continued safety for the remainder of the season!
James,
You understand what we’re dealing with!
Your neighbours burnt their own house down? Oh my! Do you have strict regulations for burning trash? We do. At the moment, most areas have a total fire ban. Of course, this doesn’t mean that someone isn’t going to do something stupid.
Thank you so much for praying for us. That’s very kind of you.
Happy New Year! I hope 2020 is full of adventures for you and your family. Fun adventures and not bushfire watching ones!
Love seeing you and Andy – what a great couple you are! Prayers continue from the other side of the word – stay safe and may the New Year bring welcome rain.
Beate,
Andy is delighted and surprised that there are people enjoying our vlogs! Thank you for watching.
New Year rain would be wonderful. Thank you for your continued prayers. You are such a dear friend!
Hi, Sue, it’s WendyFromZoom. I haven’t been on your blog for a long time because of craziness in my life, but I saw the bushfires in the news and have been praying for you guys!
Now that I know how close the fires really are, I’ll pray a little harder! God bless and protect you!
Wendy,
It is so good to see you on my blog! That’s very special. I miss the days when we all had more time to visit each other and chat. Yes, the fires are close, but things have improved. I’m hoping the worst is behind us. Sadly, the fire is still out of control. It keeps getting bigger and bigger so there are still many people who will have to face it. Thank you so much for your prayers!
May God bless you too and keep you and your family safe during 2020!
Thank you for you updates and letting us know that you are all safe and can stay in your home! Andy and you are such a wonderful couple! So good to see you.
Keeping you in my prayers.
Luana,
Thank you for watching our vlog. We had a lot of fun making it!
And thank you for your prayers. I feel blessed by your friendship. Sending love and praying for you and your intentions. xx