Zeehan residents surrounded by scorched earth on Tasmania’s rugged West Coast
Zeehan resident Dawn Wright is more used to dealing with cyclones than bushfires, but she found no shortage of community support when a blaze approached her town.
Tasmania
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ZEEHAN resident Dawn Wright is more used to dealing with cyclones than bushfires, but she found no shortage of community members ready to lend a hand when a blaze approached her town.
Mrs Wright, 53, who moved to Zeehan from Darwin with her husband, Jeff Candish, five months ago, captured the photo above about 3km from the town centre on Saturday.
Many Zeehan residents packed up and left on Friday morning as a bushfire came within a few kilometres of the town and the air filled with smoke.
Mrs Wright and Mr Candish decided not to evacuate as they navigated what was a new experience.
“We’ve never been through a fire before, so it’s new to us,” Mrs Wright said.
“We’re down from Darwin, so we’re used to cyclones — they’re different.
“It’s a bit scary. Having not been through it before we didn’t know how to prepare.”
But she said everyone from local firefighters to her boss were willing to help out as the fire approached.
“Everyone is willing to [lend a] helping hand,” she said. “It’s just really good people around here, it’s just a really good town.”
Mrs Wright shot the images of scorched land during a drive on Saturday night, and said the area around the town was “pretty burnt out.”
TFS chief officer Chris Arnol said the bushfire’s threat to Zeehan residents yesterday was relatively low.
“We have been doing some work with TasNetworks and the Hydro to make sure that the critical infrastructure is protected there,” Mr Arnol said. “That has been our priority now. We’re quite comfortable with what is occurring in the residential sphere.”
An advice alert was in place for Zeehan yesterday evening.
A bushfire community meeting will be held at the Zeehan Scout Hall at 1pm today. Representatives from the TFS, Tasmania Police, and the State Emergency Service will be in attendance.
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