Black Saturday Blog - My Experience

I remember when I was in grade 3. It was really hot; it had been for about a week. They had said on the news that Saturday was going to be really hot and really dangerous, like Ash Wednesday. We had talked a little about bush fires at school, but I had no idea how dangerous they were until I saw that footage on the telly. I remember seeing a reporter talking on the T.V about e fires and how fast it was spreading; I still remember how scared she looked.

I don’t think it hit me until I recognised the towns they were announcing Bendigo, King Lake, and Maryborough. It really hit home that this is not just another tragic thing that is happening in USA or even QLD, it’s happening in our state, in close towns. It really scared me when I went outside to feed the dog and I could smell smoke. When I think about the day they now call ‘Black Saturday’ I can still smell the smoke and feel that sweltering wind nearly push me over in my own backyard.

There was a girl at school whose brother died in the fires. She didn’t come to school for weeks, and when she finally did we were told not to treat her any differently than what we usually did. I don’t know how you recover from something like that, especially when she was the last person he called to tell her he loved her.

My Mum’s work started donating supplies to the people who were left without homes and living in town halls. When we went grocery shopping, mum would buy extra toilet paper, toothpaste and other hygiene products to donate. It made me realise how much everyone wants to help, how we all band together as a community when something tragic happens. I don’t know if this is just an Australian thing, but even now in 2011, I see people bow their heads when they hear about ‘Black Saturday’.

I hope that we have learnt from this tragedy and when we are put in danger like this again that we are educated enough to have an action plan, and get out safe. Bushfires are an inevitable part of living in Australia, and in the bush. We need to make sure we are ready to fight whatever comes our way because I don’t know how Victoria could cope with another ‘Black Saturday’.