#yarloop

No one saw it coming No one stood a chance Black as night. Piles of corrugated iron that once were houses. The last of the ash in the fireplace blankets what little remains of a lifetime; fried to little more than dust. Half melted dolls faces stare into their now bleak and empty future; no more children to play. Bright Orange. Nothing is left. Dull amber leaves clinging to the last life in their branches. Skeletons of cars sit warped and rusted and abandoned; no more families to drive. Trunks are nothing but ash and anguish. Black wires growing out of the ground reaching for an escape that isn’t there.   Branches jarring at harsh angles, twisting and writhing from the searing heat. No one saw it coming. No one stood a chance.

Went for a drive down south today, passed through Yarloop,  the devastation and the destruction from the recent fires a few months ago was heart breaking to see, a whole town destroyed and gone with a blink of an eye, the old wineries and farms lost forever. with every storm comes a rainbow, may Yarloop get their rainbow soon.

Through my work as a journalist, I was granted media access to document the aftermath of a huge fire that ripped through southern Western Australia this year. The inferno all but completely destroyed the small town of Yarloop. It was incredible to stand there and picture how intense the fire would have been while surrounded by the charred remains of a once happy and vibrant rural community. The fire’s path of destruction is totally random; some buildings were left standing, others were reduced to ash and rubble in a matter of minutes. I urge people - don’t let go there. Let the residents grieve and let the authorities do their jobs.