We started our trip down to the southern coast on Friday when I picked up Kyle and Mike from school and we started the over 4 hour drive down to Denmark. Our route first took us through Dwellingup where the fires did the most damage. It was eerily quiet and the devastation left you feeling empty. We passed several homesteads which were either fully or partially destroyed also.
These shots only begin to capture the effects of the fires. From accounts of those involved, one of the most terrifying aspects was the noise. The roar of the fire and the exploding of the tree nuts disturbed even those who were prepared for the fires. The most disgusting part is that most of the fires were started either intentionally by arson, or by careless tossing of cigarettes from car windows.
In the first image of the gallery, the tree on the right was quite intriguing as it was obviously 1/2 in the fires, and 1/2 spared. What is most impressive however, is how the trees and landscape recover. In the future, we’ll include some photos of the local park which was burnt. There are trees which looked totally destroyed which are now beginning to sprout new greenery. Life here really has adapted to deal with the heat and fires which come with it.
