Sharni Vinson cattle, horses threatened as bushfires close in
Former Home And Away star Sharni Vinson risks losing dozens of animals and the family farm her grandfather built with his bare hands as the bushfire crisis continues.
Confidential
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Former Home And Away star Sharni Vinson says dozens of animals are at risk as roaring bushfires burn near her family farm on Burrill Lake in New South Wales.
The animal rights activist told Confidential she’s stressed and sleep-deprived as she anxiously monitors fires surrounding their 300-acre property, which holds just under 100 livestock.
“At the moment, it’s a hold your breath situation, the property is severely under threat right now. I’m kind of monitoring it hourly, at the moment it looks to be only a couple of kilometres away if that not even,” she said of the Currowan Fire in Shoalhaven.
“I probably only sleep a few hours a night. As soon as I open my eyes, the first thing I do is get on my phone and go to the New South Wales rural fires website and check the map of the fires to see that it hasn’t destroyed the farm.
“I’m a real advocate for animals and wildlife and it’s very hard to watch animals and wildlife in danger. We’re at the point where we have to cut the fences to let the cattle go down the lake and run, you don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”
Vinson, 36, has dozens of chickens, cattle, horses and two bulls on the family farm, which her grandfather built with her bare hands when she was just six.
“It’s a piece of South Coast paradise … The fire’s just creeping over the hill … on the map right now there only looks to be one house between us and the fire so it’s very close,” she said.
“It would be very devastating to lose because being a property that we’ve enjoyed for the past 30 years, my grandfather bought it as a piece of property that was never to be sold and always to remain for the use of future generations and it would be pretty devastating to him.
“We have a lot of cattle on the property, it’s just devastating not just for me but people who have lost their homes.”
There are more than 100 fires still burning across New South Wales, which have left eight people dead, hundreds of animals killed and more than 800 properties destroyed.
Los Angeles-based Vinson says she is stuck on the South Coast due to the ongoing bushfire crisis.
“I’m based in LA and back for Christmas, I’m still up on the Sunshine Coast with my mum and two dogs while the rest of the family are in Sydney. We can’t get back to them, we’ve had to spend Christmas apart, unfortunately. It is horrible especially when you don’t live in the country, I have to go back to LA in a couple of weeks.”
Adding to Vinson’s heartache is the recent loss of caretakers who were living on the family farm and looking after the property.
“It’s a bit of a double tragedy for us because we’ve lost the caretakers that lived on the property, one passed away last week and the other one only weeks before,” she said.
“What’s really sad is the family went down for the funeral but they couldn’t attend the wake. They had to leave early to evacuate because of the fires, it’s a really tragic time for everyone.
“Sadly I couldn’t even get down because of road closures and cancelled flights. I feel like I couldn’t even pay my respects to these people who raised me and raised the farm.”
Since starring in Home And Away more than a decade ago, Vinson went on to appear in Step Up 3D and more recently appears in Cali Satellites’ music video feat. Becca Sopher.