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We met a father and daughter who lost everything - their house burnt to the ground, their paddocks were destroyed and to top it off, they have no insurance. But when they returned later they found their 4 horses had survived with not a mark on them. They have no idea how they lived but they did. And do you know where we met them? At the vet. They were driving to their temporary home when they found an injured rosella on the road. They scooped him up and drove all the way back to Whittlesea to get him help. I couldn't believe after all they had been through, they still had time to help this poor bird.
We met another family who's story really got to me. They have five beautiful kids with a sixth on the way. The mother and oldest child were in town when the fire struck, but the father was home with the kids and their 3 cats and 3 dogs. When he realised the fire was coming, he threw them all in the car and tried to drive to safety. But they hit a wall of flames and had to turn back. So he took the 4 kids and 6 animals back to the house and they all sheltered in their hallway. Miraculously the fire burnt all round them, but the house stood strong. They all survived. The poor parents were in shock when we met them but god they were brave. We gave them toys for their kids and cages and leads for their animals.
We met another lovely couple who lost their house but managed to save their 17 year old dog. Unfortunately their cat ran away and they were desperate to find him. They were going to go back the next day to try and find him. I hope they did. They were forced to take shelter in a CFA building and when they finally escaped, they had to walk past the burnt bodies of those who hadn't made it.
These people have lost everything. What they have seen and been through is just inconceivable. The generosity though has been amazing too. There were so many people wanting to donate, wanting to help out. It was truly heart-warming and it reignites your faith in humanity.
We drove home that night in shock at what we had seen. I am glad we went and were able to bring a smile to some people's faces. The kids loved having a new teddy to cuddle or a car to play with - most of them have lost absolutely everything. We decided to head back up the next day with more toys and see what we could do to help.
On Tuesday morning, we bought more toys and went back out. We again stopped in at Whittlesea and gave out toys. By now, their were hundreds of people helping out so we decided to leave the relief centre and see if we could help out the wildlife rescuers. We ended up out at Kilmore Wildlife Rescue, a private home filled with injured and orphaned wildlife. We spent the day there feeding joeys and cleaning cages, etc. By the end of the day, the fire victims started to come in. We had a severely burnt koala, a moderately burnt koala, a number of dehydrated possums and koalas and a moderately burnt joey. It soon became apparent that they needed all the help they could get, so when Glen went home, I decided to stay the night. The dehyrdrated animals needed hourly water (we had to syringe it into their mouths) and others needed roung-the-clock feeds. We got about 2 hours sleep Tuesday night.
Wednesday we had more animals bought in and the phone rang off the hook. We worked all day with the rescues. Glen came back up and went out with the team to look for injured wildlife. It was devastating for him - most of the animals perished and they were forced to walk through paddocks filled with dead sheep and horses. I stayed at the shelter and helped with the animals. I stayed over Wednesday night as well and this time we managed about 4 hours sleep!
On Thursday morning at 5am, the Sunrise team came to the shelter and filmed until 11am. It was a bit hectic with all the cameras and people, but it was great to get some publicity for the animals. When they left, I headed out with the recovery team to search for more animals. It was heart-breaking. There were dead animals everywhere. We found one strip just outside a pine plantation with 10 kangaroos dead. There were dead joeys that their mothers must have dropped in their panic. Just devastating. We did find one live joey though which made it all worthwhile. So Thursday night I finally headed home. Because I hadn't planned to stay so long, I had no spare clothes or anything. I got one of the lady's to grab a toothbrush for me when she went in to town but that was it. So I have come home stinky and tired. It felt really good to be in there doing something though.
When I got home, it all hit me. I hadn't had time to think about the fires since I got there but when you finally take a minute to sit down, it just hits you like a tonne of bricks. I cried for hours until I finally fell asleep. I am hoping to go back out there again next week, as most of these animals are going to need long term care (some for over a year). On top of everything else, my family's old dog Paddi had to be put down on Tuesday. It was her time but I wish I could have been there with her.
Anyway, I will post some photos for you in the next post. This one is long enough.
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