Its been a hell of a week.
Tuesday morning we were evacuated, my dad and step-dad took Bek and Lily to an evacuation shelter, I volunteered for one of the Red Cross makeshift hospitals.
Basically from Tuesday through to Friday I was in this huge tent that was acting as a base to keep people before the ambulance helicopters could come and collect them. Of which there were 2 for our entire area, so we got around three pick-ups a day.
I'll tell you something, I dont know how people in the burns unit do it, im used to pediatric nursing, the smell of burned flesh is so sickening, it gets in through the masks and everything, and that was all I smelled for 4 days staright, because all I was doing for 4 days stright was nursing burns victims.
Some stories to come out of there are heartbreaking. We got this little boy, he couldnt be more than 6, he was burned and unconcious, we found out from the firefighters that brought him in that both his parents and little sister had died, so when he wakes up in hospital, he's going to find out that his whole family is dead. I just hope the hospital he went to finds some other living relatives.
Our area was cleared on Saturday, as the fires there were put out (still many burning in other areas though) so I went back home, and my dads brought the girls back. Thankfully our house is still standing. Theres a fair bit of flying ember damage, but nothing that cant be fixed.
Sunday we went up to see if Dad and Papa-Trent's house is still there, well, it isnt, theres a brick chimney left, and thats about it. We managed to salvage a few things, we found some singed photos and a few nick nacks under the rubble, but its pretty much gone. So theyre staying with us until they re-build.
Sunday night DH came back. He has his fair share of horror stories aswell, being a police officer he had to deal with the bulk of the dead bodies.
On the plus side, theyve caught a few of the arsonists that did this.
Tuesday morning we were evacuated, my dad and step-dad took Bek and Lily to an evacuation shelter, I volunteered for one of the Red Cross makeshift hospitals.
Basically from Tuesday through to Friday I was in this huge tent that was acting as a base to keep people before the ambulance helicopters could come and collect them. Of which there were 2 for our entire area, so we got around three pick-ups a day.
I'll tell you something, I dont know how people in the burns unit do it, im used to pediatric nursing, the smell of burned flesh is so sickening, it gets in through the masks and everything, and that was all I smelled for 4 days staright, because all I was doing for 4 days stright was nursing burns victims.
Some stories to come out of there are heartbreaking. We got this little boy, he couldnt be more than 6, he was burned and unconcious, we found out from the firefighters that brought him in that both his parents and little sister had died, so when he wakes up in hospital, he's going to find out that his whole family is dead. I just hope the hospital he went to finds some other living relatives.
Our area was cleared on Saturday, as the fires there were put out (still many burning in other areas though) so I went back home, and my dads brought the girls back. Thankfully our house is still standing. Theres a fair bit of flying ember damage, but nothing that cant be fixed.
Sunday we went up to see if Dad and Papa-Trent's house is still there, well, it isnt, theres a brick chimney left, and thats about it. We managed to salvage a few things, we found some singed photos and a few nick nacks under the rubble, but its pretty much gone. So theyre staying with us until they re-build.
Sunday night DH came back. He has his fair share of horror stories aswell, being a police officer he had to deal with the bulk of the dead bodies.
On the plus side, theyve caught a few of the arsonists that did this.
