The February 2009 bushfires that cannonballed through many townships just north of Melbourne, Australia, not only scarred the countryside, but also the consciousness of all Australians alike.
Nature's ferocious power is often taken for granted and on occasion we need reminding of just how tiny we are in the big scheme of things. With wind speeds reaching 100+ kilometres an hour, the fires decimated hectare after hectare of pristine bushland, destroyed property and left nearly 200 people dead and over 6,000 injured. All within a matter of just 24 hours.
Today, only 6 months later, nature is once again displaying her awesome power. Far more awesome than the 1,200 degrees Celsius firestorm that tore through the towns of Kinglake, Kilmore, Wandong, Marysville, Whittlesea, and others. It is the awesome power of nature's ability to regenerate. While humans are having difficulties recovering and restoring their lives, nature is plodding along at her own pace replacing charcoaled remains with lush, green vegetation.
Forever to be known as Black Saturday, the juggernaut that destroyed more than 2200 houses and decimated 330,000 hectares, (820,000 acres), of land is now once again the centre of discussion. While the remaining bushland fights to regenerate and regrow, it is now facing its most feared adversary. Humans.
Heavy machinery is currently paving a new wave of destruction, through the bush lifting good tree with bad and leaving a bad taste in the throats of many locals. On the eve of the Royal Commission's interim report on the bushfires, protestors filed through the town of Kinglake in an effort to voice their concerns on the indiscriminate destruction.
While many believe the trees should stay, others want to ensure that another Black Saturday will never occur again. Many new procedures are currently being reviewed and about to be put in place to avoid the chaos, confusion, and lack of communication that occurred during the February 2009 fires. The Royal Commission was scathing in its attack against Victoria's fire authorities and has put forward 51 new recommendations, including revamps of the early warning systems and changes in the, "stay or go," policies.
Hopefully we may never see such mayhem and destruction again, but with another Australian summer headed our way and with predictions of similar if not worse weather patterns as the previous summer, we can only hope and pray that lessons learnt may prove valuable in saving lives, property and bushland.
For free quality photographs corresponding to this article, please visit me at: http://worldofwordz.com/.
A number of photographs are attached with my article and many more are available on my Picture Page. These are royalty and fee free, non-watermarked, and are available to any interested parties.
James Koutlis, Freelance Journalist & Photographer.
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