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A hot westerly wind alerts me to my surroundings in a way it never did before last summer. There is a dreadful combination of heat, dry weather and wind speed that writes a warning plain and clear in my mind.
It stirs visceral memories of those sensations from the bushfires of 2019-20 and makes them something like an internal fire danger warning system. One gust and I feel my body tense, and I think, "what's going to happen?". I instantly remember what it was like to be on the NSW South Coast last summer.
The residents I spoke to in the region last month described a similar reaction to the return of hotter days in recent weeks. They shared their vivid memories of those months when the Currowan fire attacked their villages and towns, threatened and destroyed properties, and burnt vast stretches of wilderness home to birds, koalas and other wildlife.
The bushfire started on November 26, 2019 with a lightning strike in dense state forest north-west of Batemans Bay, and by January had expanded well into the Southern Highlands. It became known locally as the "forever fire" and burnt for 74 days across about 500,000 hectares, destroying more than 300 homes. It wasn't until February that rain came and helped extinguish the Currowan fire.
Much of the nation's attention shifted to the pandemic and economic downturn after what became known as "Black Summer" ended. The return of hot days - those bracing westerly winds - and the anniversary of the bushfires have unearthed memories, setting in train a new round of reflection.
As November 26 approached this year, I thought it was important to report on how South Coast communities had recovered since, and what they remembered about those harrowing months.
Residents described the sensations of that time, be it the roaring tukka-tukka-tukka sound of a helicopter overhead, the image of fleeing animals bursting from the forest in waves, or the blackened sky that hid the sun for weeks.
The fire that surged into Bawley Point on December 5 last year is hard to describe. As I watched it jump Willinga Lake that day, it sounded like a train rushing past. Residents have said it was like an animal or a living creature. Flames reached 40 or 50 metres into the sky.
Long after Bawley Point escaped destruction that day, the fire left a deep impression on the village. How couldn't it? Residents have acted on what they saw, and joined the Rural Fire Service brigade. One new volunteer, Samantha Walker, said the decision helped her take back control from the threat of bushfire. It had even made her daughter more confident about future fire seasons.
Those experiences so clearly etched into everyone's memories have brought on action, and renewal. Volunteer numbers have surged in local brigades. Awareness of fire seasons has grown. The Currowan fire is undeniably a story of trauma and tragedy, but it's also one of resilience, hope and courage.
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