SA firefighter’s amazing koala rescue as safety warnings remain for bushfires

Fires at Kangaroo Island and Cudlee Creek remain grave risks to safety, authorities warn, as amazing stories of survival and heartbreaking tales of loss emerge. Amid the devastation, a welcome moment of hope has emerged - the image of shell-shocked koalas rescued by a firefighter in the Adelaide Hills.

Janelle Michalowski shared this image of the koalas rescued by rural firefighter Adam.

• LATEST INFO: CFS updates | CFS incidents map

• THE STRUGGLE: How a day of catastrophic danger unfolded

• THE IMAGES: Extraordinary photos from the Adelaide Hills fire

• THE HEAT: Adelaide swelters through hottest-ever night

As fire-ravaged communities mourn the devastation caused by the bushfires sweeping our state, a welcome moment of hope has gripped weary Australians.

Janelle Michalowski took to Facebook to share a remarkable image of one heroic rural firefighter’s kind act, which has now gone viral.

Janelle Michalowski shared this image of the koalas rescued by rural firefighter Adam.

The image shows six shell-shocked koalas huddled in the hallway of a home, one of them gripping the wall, a garden hose on the floor beneath them.

Ms Michalowski explained that in between trying to save local homes in Cudlee Creek, a firefighter named Adam paused to rescue the several marsupials.

Read the full story here

Premier Steven Marshall has confirmed the number of homes destroyed at Cudlee Creek has risen to 72 - up from 15 yesterday.

A further 400 structures, including sheds, were destroyed - and 227 vehicles.

 

SA Power Networks say power is being restored to homes outside the Cudlee Creek restriction zone, and expect supply to resume by the end of Tuesday.

 

CFS have warned that embers from that fire are falling in Athelstone, in the eastern suburbs, and are monitoring the situation.

SA Power Networks at work on the Cudlee Creek fireground. Picture: SAPN

Despite the losses, community spirit is truly alive and well in the Adelaide Hills.

As the Cudlee Creek bushfire continues to burn, locals and out-of-towners are flooding recovery centres and community Facebook pages with offers of donations and services to those affected by the blaze.

Businesses in the region have been offering free food and drinks to displaced residents and emergency services personnel.

The Lobethal Hotel offered free beer and a place to seek refuge on Friday.

"A lot of locals that didn't know what else to do, came in," publican Kath Attrill said.

The watering hole even became a makeshift animal shelter for six dogs, a cat, a koala, rabbit and even a chicken during the height of the blaze.

"That's just what we do as a community - Everyone chips in, it's not just us," Ms Attrill said.

Asha Watkins and Publican Kath Attrill from the Lobethal Hotel, who were a refuge for people and animals as well as gave out free drinks and food on Friday. (AAP/ Keryn Stevens)

The Lobethal Bakery was offering free baked goods yesterday and today the Charleston Hotel is providing free meals.

Other businesses have been offering services to help the local community in its time of need.

A group of Lobethal volunteers established the "Lobethal Bushfire Recovery" centre in the town's main street yesterday.

It provides a central point where people can donate or offer assistance as well as a place where those impacted by the fire can access support and services.

"Lots of people are trying to provide assistance in any way they can," centre organiser Kelly Lewis said.

Ms Lewis said people needing assistance had also been flooding in.

"What we're trying to do now is work through and prioritise those that need really urgent assistance over assistance that could wait 24, 48 hours," she said.

The volunteers have also set up a donation drop-off point at the Lobethal RSL.

A sign thanking the CFS in Lobethal.

Food, toiletries, towels and linen are among the items being sought.

Ms Lewis said the amount of people willing to donate items or their time had been overwhelming.

"It's amazing - It's absolutely incredible," she said. "I've never seen anything like it."

Ms Lewis said more volunteers to operate the centre were also needed.

Meanwhile, people have been taking to the Adelaide Hills Alert and the Lobethal Bushfire Recovery Facebook pages to offer everything from paddock space, caravans, other accommodation, Christmas presents and computer and printing services. 

The Lobethal Bushfire Recovery Centre is located at 71 Main St, Lobethal.

 

Although most of the community response has been positive, some Hills residents fear looters are striking in the aftermath of the fire.

Contractor Nick Truman told The Advertiser a $4000 generator was stolen from a Telstra exchange at Harrogate in the early hours of this morning.

Mr Truman and his colleagues had been setting up and refueling generators at Telstra exchanges across the Hills since the bushfire broke out on Friday.

The generators produced back up power for the exchanges, which provide mobile phone and internet coverage to the region.

Without a generator, an exchange would run out of power within about four hours of a blackout.

 

Mr Truman said he arrived at the Harrogate exchange at 1am this morning to find it, and the chain used to secure it, had been stolen.

"We went back there to put some fuel in it and it was gone," he said."It's very disappointing that there is some (person) stealing generators."There's people who were trying their hardest to make people safe and there's people going around stealing stuff - What is wrong with you? If you can't pick up your phone and make calls in an emergency, that's a safety risk right there."

Reports of people acting suspiciously around properties in the fire zone have also been posted on the Adelaide Hills Alert Facebook page.

One person said when their relatives returned to their Lobethal home, an unknown man was walking around the back of the property and fled when he saw them.

Another person reported people on dirt bikes were acting suspiciously around other properties.

People were quick to condemn looting. "I cant believe that there people who stoop so low," one said. "What has our country become?" "What low lifes - Unreal," another said.

A police spokeswoman said there had been "no confirmed incidents of looting to date".

Burnt farmland at Harrogate. Picture: AAP / Keryn Stevens

Firefighters continue to battle blazes across the state but there are no longer any emergency warnings in place.

A complex series of fires on Kangaroo Island has been downgraded and is being treated as two different fire fronts.

Both the Menzies and Duncan fires are burning out of control and 60 firefighters are battling to contain them.

Hundreds of emergency services personnel remain active on the fireground at Cudlee Creek.

Hot spots across the 25,000ha fireground are causing the CFS concerns and roadblocks are still in place.

CFS crews remain at the scene of fires in Lameroo, Angle Vale, Coonalpyn, Maitland and Virginia mopping up and securing the fireground.

The major bushfire in Cudlee Creek is the main focus of firefighters today, while the Kangaroo Island fire has been downgraded to a Watch and Act. 

A bushfire investigation of the Cudlee Creek incident will be run by Major Crime, the cause is undetermined but not suspicious. CFS chief officer Mark Jones said there were 27 tier 1 road closures in place in the area. Members of the public will be turned away, and people in the area are being checked on. That fire had burned more than 25,000ha by this morning.

Mr Jones said there had been more than 100 fires by lunch time, with 500 firefighters in action and 23 of them injured. "Remarkable so few were injured in these conditions," he said.

Further death in #SAFires. At Charleston in Adel Hills. 23 firefighters, 2 police injured. 15 homes destroyed. More soon ⁦@theTiser⁩ pic.twitter.com/q9L6JF7UUS

— Chris Russell (@ChrisRussellBiz) December 21, 2019

Emergency Services Minister Corey Wingard said 1500 volunteers were working on the fires, which should serve as a wakeup call for all of the state.

Premier Steven Marshall said the initial damage assessment was very significant, but feared it was just the tip of the iceberg.

A house in Woodside, destroyed in yesterday's fires. Picture: Lydia Kellner

Mr Marshall said 15 homes had been destroyed along with 28 other buildings and 16 vehicles including three CFS trucks.

Earlier it was confirmed that Oakbank Racing Club legend John Glatz is in hospital fighting for his life with severe burns after trying to project is Woodside property. Read the full story here.

At 9.49am the Emergency Warning for the Kangaroo Island bushfire was downgraded to a Watch and Act.

By the numbers:

1500 Firefighters responded to fires across the state.

More than 100 fires started by lunchtime on Friday.

40,000ha destroyed in all fires.

23 firefighters injured, one seriously.

Two police officers injured.

29 members of the public transported by paramedics as a result of the fires.

90-100 police welfare checks on people who decided to stay and protect their properties.

25,000ha destroyed in Cudlee Creek fire.

27 tier one roadblocks in place around the Cudlee Creek fire.

Full details for all fires will appear on live blog entries below, with major updates to appear regularly in this section of the story.

A 24-year-old man from Queensland has confirmed to be the man who died in a crash at Lameroo. It has been confirmed that the crash sparked the bushfire in the Murraylands. There have been 106 lives lost on SA roads this year.

 

Alverna Ballard, 76, outside her destroyed Brukunga property. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

 

WARNING ZONES: For a detailed interactive map of the firegrounds, click here

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