Mosman man prepares to abandon Port Macquarie home as fires encroach
The killer bush fires have already claimed three lives and destroyed dozens of properties. Now the flames are approaching John Steer’s property near to Port Macquarie.
Mosman
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John Steer is preparing to evacuate his Port Macquarie home as the flames threaten to surround his property.
The former Mosman local lives 15km north of the city and is fearful that it is becoming just too dangerous to stay.
He is worried his house will burn to the ground as fires engulf the region.
“It could go. If you get those strong winds there’s nothing much you can do,” Mr Steer said.
“This is pretty terrible. A lot of people are in trouble, worried, affected by the smoke and could lose their homes.”
There are two big fires west of his property and he is constantly monitoring the situation through the Fires Near Me app and the weather forecast.
He said the smoke is particularly bad today (Monday) and as an asthmatic he is finding it difficult to breathe.
He has spent the day preparing for the worst and is cleaning up all the dried leaves and plastics. He plans to evacuate tomorrow into the city.
Mr Steer has been contacting his friends to make sure they are OK and has been helping a neighbour get his firefighting pump ready.
“Because of the strong winds on Tuesday the situation could change very, very quickly,” he said.
“Fires could start especially if there is lightning. Everything is so dry.
“It’s very dangerous conditions. Everybody is nervous and worried.”
Mr Steer grew up at Balmoral and moved to Port Macquarie 16 years ago.
He has three children. His mother Heather still lives in Mosman and is worried but he is not going to take any chances.
“Because there’s been fires in the past I’ve got a reasonable level of understanding about risk. I know when to go. I’m not going to take any chances. I couldn’t do that to my mum,” he said.
Mr Steer urged people in Sydney to support the firefighters.