The fire was suddenly advancing with intense speed and appeared at the rims of our valley. As the inferno was unleashed we gathered our people, family, guests who had come for a yoga retreat, our dog. With 3 cars we drove through smoke and villages in panic to safety 40 minutes away. We all stayed in a hotel and tried to regroup, take care of each other and prepare for the worst.
We are all alive, even our cats made it! Others were not saved, and in our region and close community, 60 to 70 people died, most of them in their cars, trying to flee the flames, smoke and heat. It felt like being awake in a bad dream.
Two days later we came back through the charcoaled, desolate land to find our beloved valley cleansed of all monoculture of eucalyptus, with only some of the native trees like the oaks and alder trees still alive although seriously or partially burnt. The silence was like that after a snowfall, only this time the landscape was black.
The new tree house is gone
All the tipis and their deck burnt as well
Our house was still there with everything in it, just slightly coated inside and out in soot and ashes. The barn, outdoor practice platform and outdoor guest bathroom survived too. Our yurt collapsed in on itself only leaving the alter untouched. Most of our tipis and all their wooden decks burned, so did our new beloved tree house, all water tanks, plumbing and outdoor pumps. Some solar system, machinery, tools and gear burned to such a high temperature, it melted glass and metal.
Our friend Lula who cooks for our groups has lost her beautiful live-in truck she was travelling in with her two daughters.
The land is still smouldering, little plumes of smoke rising here and there. Elsewhere the fires are still burning. Ash still falls. A smokey haze everywhere amidst the stillness and quiet…
We are the lucky ones. The grief and loss surrounding us is heartbreaking. There is such strong community here. If people are not related, they have known each other since childhood. Which means that the loss of life here is personal to everyone. And many, many people have lost their homes, livelihoods, animals…
Immediately, we need to focus on getting water and electrics fully functioning. We are desperate to keep what is green alive. And we need to contact all retreat facilitators that were due to come this summer, all the volunteers that were lined up to come. We want to set up a crowd funding to help us with the huge task ahead and the cost of re-planting and re-building.
We have to re-vision now with a different awareness, create a more permanent environment, reforest intelligently, create more water retention and fire breaks, remove all eucalyptus roots and restructure the soil. Rebuild our Centre. A clean slate; our valley is made of it!
With the gratitude that we have our lives, and a deep longing to heal the land, we will move with strength and heart towards this new vision.
