AS SMOKE AND FLAMES engulfed the area where Shelley Caban, 36, lived with her partner Oliver and her three daughters, she says the emergency advice she was given was, ‘Keep driving north and don’t stop.’ Last week, they were forced to abandon their home in a tree-lined valley in New South Wales after they woke to find the sky glowing orange and the air filled with thick smoke. They packed as much as they could into a bus they own and left, joining the thousands of Australians who have been displaced by wildfires ravaging the country.
Shelley, Oliver and Aria, 18, Aster, six, and Pearl, four, drove to an evacuation centre in the nearby town of Eden, but found it wasn’t safe there either. ‘I was told, “The fire is heading for us and no one is safe in Eden,”’ Shelley says. Next, they made their way to a nearby wharf and parked next to a boat on the water. ‘It was really smoky in the car. It was horrendous, with ash in the air – if I had got out and walked around I would’ve gone blind, like I couldn’t see. Embers were falling from the sky.’
Although this particular spate of fires has slightly died down for now, the family has no idea what the days ahead will bring or whether they will ever be able to return home. As Grazia went to press, the state of Victoria had declared another emergency and there were more warnings in place for South Australia and New South Wales.
The emergency advice she was given was, ‘Keep driving north and don’t stop.'
Shelley, a landscape designer and horticulturist, and her family are staying near the wharf for the time being, having to boil the water they drink because it’s contaminated with ash. ‘Pearl and Aster have been coughing so much I was concerned about them being able to breathe,’ Shelley adds. ‘I don’t know what we’re going to do long-term. We could lose our home over the weekend. Our house and Eden are still under threat. We will be in danger until everything burns or we get decent rains to put the fires out. It makes you think about the effects of global warming – this is what scientists have been predicting. Is this the beginning of the end?'
The fires in Australia have raged for more than three months, destroying whole towns, plunging areas into darkness and killing at least 27 people and an estimated billion animals. Apocalyptic scenes have served as a wake-up call about the impact of climate change. But despite areas larger than Denmark being affected, the Australian Government has been accused of not taking enough action on global warming. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has faced criticism over his response to the crisis, but last week pledged Aus$2bn (£1.05bn) for a recovery fund. Meanwhile, experts have called the fires unprecedented and warned that rising temperatures can create the dry conditions that make these fires so devastating.
About 200km north of Eden, Caitlin Gwynn Jones, 22, a student, and her dad spent recent days sifting through the remains of their holiday home in North Rosedale. Last week’s fire reduced it to a dusty heap. ‘The house is incredibly special to my whole family,’ Caitlin tells Grazia. She and her family live in Canberra but have spent their lives regularly staying at the holiday home. When they realised the whole area had been destroyed by fire they were ‘absolutely devastated’ and drove to the house immediately. ‘There was that sudden eerie feeling, sudden sadness. So many homes gone, roofs flattened, trees fallen, power lines down. Nothing survived. We managed to find a couple of mugs, a frying pan, an old sewing machine and a few other bits and bobs,’ she says. Fortunately, Caitlin isn’t aware of any fatalities in the area. People were warned by text messages from the emergency services to evacuate; her aunt and uncle got out with four hours to spare.
She says it doesn’t make her consider leaving Australia, but she does worry about what’s in store for the country in years to come. ‘Global warming has always been at the back of my mind, but these fires have made me really think how it might be affecting the country and the rest of the world,’ she says. ‘This area is not out of danger yet as there are still lots of fires being fought but, as Australians, I know we are a tough mob and will get through this.’
Shelley recommends the following charity to make a donation to help rescue wildlife: wires.org.au/donate/emergency-fund
READ MORE: 'I Won't Have Children Because Of Climate Change'