Mallacoota family describes ‘scary’ escape by boat

A boy whose photo fleeing the bushfires by boat has been splashed across Australia, has spoken of his “scary” escape.

An 11-year-old boy whose photo fleeing the bushfires by boat in an unearthly red haze has been splashed across newspapers and websites, has spoken of his “scary” escape.

Finn Burns, his mother Allison Marion and brother Caleb took their boat out from Mallacoota Beach in East Gippsland early on Tuesday morning as thousands gathered on the beach to shelter from surrounding fires.

His mother took the photograph of Finn steering the boat to shelter, wearing a face mask for protection from the thick smoke, as the fires turned the sky red.

Ms Marion said she had taken the photograph to record the moment for her family. But it went viral on social media and was splashed across newspapers nationwide.

Finn said the escape with his family and dog as the fire hit the town was “pretty scary”

“When we left it just went pitch black and it was really, really windy. We were just worried about getting away from the fire and just being safe,” he said.

People shelter on the dock at Mallacoota. Picture: Instagram.

Ms Marion said she was proud of her sons for remaining calm as they sailed with other Mallacoota families to shelter on Goodwin Sands. .

“Both my boys are little legends, they were very calm. Finn drove the boat and my other son looked after the dog in the boat and (I am) very proud of both of them,” she told the ABC.

“We were lucky enough to be with a group of other people from Mallacoota and other families who assisted us and we followed them out to Goodwin Sands where we located for the day and there were a lot of Mallacoota people sheltering.”

When Ms Marion and her sons returned home later, they were relieved to see their home, and others in their street still standing. But Ms Marion said she felt for those who had lost everything.

“Our street escaped the fire somehow, however, I feel for many people in our community who have lost their homes. It’s just truly saddening,” she said.

About 4000 people remain stranded in Mallacoota, with supplies being brought in by sea. Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said Emergency Management Victoria had moved some of its biggest helicopters to the area, and would use them for a shift changeover of firefighters in and out of Mallacoota on Wednesday afternoon.

“We know, for example, with Mallacoota, we know they have a significant amount of water, but we know we need to get supplies to them,” he said.

Commissioner Crisp said a police boat had come to Mallacoota from NSW on Tuesday, bringing a small amount of water, with a Victoria Police boat set to deliver another 1600 litres of water on Wednesday.

A large barge is currently being loaded in Melbourne, containing food and water and 30,000L of fuel: “It will have supplies for about two weeks.”

Commissioner Crisp said the naval vessels were being brought in because smoke would pose challenges for large scale air evacuations.

“As a result of that there’s been a commitment from the Australian Defence Force to move naval assets towards Mallacoota,” he said.