18 homes lost in firestorm - mayor
Pastor Dale Morgan
*18 homes lost in firestorm - mayor*
By Catherine Best
December 12, 2006 08:45am
Article from: AAP
THE mayor of a Tasmanian coastal town at the centre of a ferocious
bushfire last night believes 18 home were lost but says it is a miracle
the number wasn't higher.
The full extent of the damage caused by bushfire that tore through the
town of Scamander on the northeast coast is unlikely to be known until
this afternoon.
Mayor Robert Legge of the Break O'Day Council said today he believed 18
homes were destroyed in the firestorm which engulfed the holiday town,
with fears many more had been lost.
There were no reported deaths or injuries.
"I was down right at the fire, about 150 metres from the fire, I was
coming through some paddocks yesterday afternoon and it was absolutely
frightening" Mr Legge said on Channel 9.
"Full courage to the firefighters who get out and do that sort of thing
and all the other authorities that did a magnificent job.
"To retain what we've got and only lose 18 houses with a fire like that
is absolutely marvellous
Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) spokesman Danny Reid said investigators
were travelling to the area this morning.
He said there was nothing firefighters could do to save houses as the
town was engulfed by smoke and flying embers.
"The conditions were that bad there was nothing to be done. Yesterday
afternoon the wind gusted there at up to 120km/h," he said.
"The wind wasn't blowing consistently, it just went off like a bomb ...
you can't fight that, you can't defend it.
"(It was a) horrible afternoon and night. It's an absolute scene of
devastation there this morning."
Break O'Day councillor David Clement said he feared for his life as the
blaze tore through the town.
"Incredible, evil sulfurous cloud of black smoke, black and yellow and
luminous green, it was terrifying," he said on ABC radio.
"The fire was just sweeping down there and jumping from tree to tree, it
was jumping across the paddocks, the sparks were just going 400m, 200m,
setting fire."
The fire has burnt more than 10,000ha and is still out of control.
Mr Reid said it was unknown whether the properties lost were holiday
houses or occupied homes.
But hotel owner Vic Cato said most were owned by long-term residents.
He said residents woken to a haze this morning and were trying to
comprehend the enormity of the destruction.
"Some of the houses that have been destroyed are (owned by) people that
have lived here all their lives," he said on ABC radio.
"To wake up this morning not knowing how their lives have changed - it
will have an enormous impact on them. I believe that most of the places
that have been destroyed, that they were (owned by) permanent residents."
Scamander supermarket owner Kevin Rudd feared the emergency was not over
yet.
"There's smoke everywhere, you look out to sea and it's just covered in
smoke, (there's) the smell of fire in the air," he said on ABC radio.
A relief centre has been established at Portland Memorial Hall in St
Helens about 20km away.