It’s very unnerving here this morning. Helicopters are flying back and forth, water bombing a fire that broke out south of Daylesford late yesterday afternoon. 

Just after we’d heard the first reports on the radio, a friend phoned to tell us that it had started in farmland at Muskvale. It then spread north and east with alarming speed and it’s spotting into the Wombat Forest.

Soon after that, another friend who lives on the eastern side of town, phoned to report that the fire had spread to Musk, just a few kilometres from town. She said that she and her partner had decided to leave, along with their animals, to spend the night with family in Melbourne. We wished each other luck.

We walked along the road to a vantage point to see whether we could gauge the fire’s size. It looked enormous and seemed to be rapidly moving in an easterly direction. If the wind swung around before containment lines were established, we’d be right in it’s path.

We hastened home, called friends in Hepburn Springs and asked them if we could stay the night. They urged us to come as soon as we wanted. We quickly packed essentials. According to the radio, the threat to this area was not yet imminent.

At around 8pm, the electricity cut out. Torches were turned on, candles lit. If it hadn’t been for the wind and the smell of smoke, it could have been romantic. We re-heated leftovers for a quick dinner. Neither of us was particularly hungry, reports from the radio curbing our appetites. The fire was just to our south.

By 9pm, the wind had picked up considerably, blowing from the south-west. The radio issued warnings to residents in our locale to stay alert for ember attack. That was enough to spur us to leave. With no generator to operate the water pump, only a few buckets and watering cans filled with water and the wind blowing at 30 kilometers an hour, we had little hope of quelling a storm of embers before they ignited any number of things. 

Driving into Daylesford through thick smoke was an unnerving experience. We saw few other vehicles on the road but I drove slowly, aware that wallabies and kangaroos would be on the move, escaping the fire. I also worried that a panicked resident might come careering out of the smoke at any moment.

According to the radio news late last night, the fire had spread to Coomoora and was heading towards Wheatsheaf and Glenlyon, all surrounded by the Wombat Forest. Daylesford Senior Citizens’ Centre had been turned into a refuge for those fleeing communities in the fire’s path. A generous accommodation operator donated mattresses and bedding.

We decided that we’d done the right thing, retreating to our friends’ house in the opposite direction to the fire… although they had their bags packed, too, just in case.

We spent a restless night listening to the wind, the reek of wood smoke fuelling thoughts of the worst kind. This morning the radio reported that there’d been no loss of life or homes although a fire tanker had become bogged and suffered severe fire damage. Thankfully, the CFA crew escape unharmed.

Buoyed by the absence of bad news, we decided to return home. This time, we came via the back roads, away from roads travelled by emergency vehicles and fleeing residents.

Before we left, our friends’ nine year-old insisted that we let them know, as soon as possible, whether our house was still standing. I’m delighted to say that it is. 

Thanks to the valiant efforts of the volunteers of the Country Fire Authority, the immediate threat has passed. But we remain vigilant.