Bushfire safety

My family live in the Adelaide Hills, an area that is highly forested, as you can see from the photo below from the veranda of the grannie flat. It's about 17km South East of Adelaide and is a beautiful peaceful area close to the vineyards and some of the earliest settlements in South Australia. Hahndorf, a village with German roots which we all like very much, is close by and celebrates 175 years of its foundation next year.

 

So, unlike the metropolitan regions of the city where Adam and Prue lived before (the Safer Settlement of Adelaide), bush fires are now an everyday concern now we have entered the Fire Danger Season - summer from 1 December to 30 April.

In the UK we are probably more aware of the dangers following the extremely severe bush fires last autumn in New South Wales, so I thought I would outline the very comprehensive plans and systems surrounding fire danger.

The key is, like a lot of things in life, being prepared.

Adam & Prue are currently attending neighbourhood forums around fire safety (Bushfire Blitz) run by the Community Fire Service but basically it is suggested that people assess their own circumstances and either decide to defend their homes or leave the area in a timely fashion for a safe area.

This is what Adam and Prue have decided given the youth of their family, the construction materials (glass and wood) and location of their house (on a wooded ridge). They have already done this once this season, going towards the cleared area around Hahndorf. They got the children to pack their own emergency bags then when they got there discovered that Antonia had packed her guinea pigs, the whole series of the book she is currently reading but no underwear. That fire was quite small so they were able to return home quite quickly.

 

However, there are also actions that all responsible homeowners take such as clearing their lot of unnecessary undergrowth (the booklet I read also helpfully pointed out this reduces the areas where snakes could live), keeping gutters clean etc so Prue is weed whacking down by the road this morning. It is going to be very hot over the next few days so this is an early morning job. I've made sure that I know where to go and what to do if there is a case for evacuation when I'm in charge. Fortunately there are neighbours near whom I've met and routes out in two directions (one of the criteria for buying this property). Fire alerts come through by radio, TV and via phone apps. You have to be impressed with the forward planning.

On a lighter note we spotted these koalas recently:

 

This one was when we were walking back from school last week.

 

And this one was on the neighbour's property (there are no fences) and was just swopping trees - it ended up scritching and scratching itself a bit higher up in the tree fork.

 

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