As Australia’s bushfires get worse, Kiwis residing in the affected country have started to prepare to either defend their homes or evacuate.
A Kiwi residing on the Beecroft Peninsula in Australia, known only as Moir, said they’re preparing for the worst as the fires were only about 30 kilometres away as he spoke.
“If the wind changes, as they’re expected to, that can come this way in a couple of hours,” Moir told Stuff.co.nz – adding that they have a set of heavy duty sprinklers, “the sort the market gardeners use.”
Meanwhile, former Aucklander Jeorgi Patterson has already started packing up essentials and her most valuable documents, including insurance.
“We’re prepared and informed. Everyone has a bag or two packed with clothes, blankets, money, important documents like passports, birth certificates, insurance and anything else,” she told Stuff.co.nz. “We have food and water to last a few days ready to go in the pantry...we have the animal cages for the cats and the leash for the dog all in the garage in a place we can get them quickly, and food and water for the pets so we can take them with us.”
Paul Shaw, principal rural fire officer at Fire and Emergency New Zealand, shared that he fought four separate fires in New South Wales spanning 270,000 hectares – and he found the lack of resources as the biggest challenge.
“All of the rural fire service guys over there are volunteers. They are there taking time out of their lives, out of their jobs, to go and fight those fires, and there’s just so many,” he said, emphasising that New Zealand should learn from the disaster.
“In isolated areas prone to extreme dry weather, such as Coromandel or Nelson, the potential for a dangerous bush fire was huge at this time of year,” he explained.
