Wildfire victims remembered
Source: Agencies |
February 8, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
RELEASING butterflies to honor the dead, Australians marked the first anniversary of the country's worst-ever wildfires yesterday in big-city cathedrals and towns still bearing burn scars.
On February 7 last year, hundreds of fires raged across southeastern Australia as temperatures soared and powerful winds whipped blazes into firestorms. In a single day, 173 people were killed and more than 2,000 homes razed.
The scale of the disaster dubbed Black Saturday deeply shocked Australia, where hundreds of wildfires scorch vast areas of forest and farmland every summer but rarely cause deaths.
A national day of mourning was observed, flags lowered to half-staff on government buildings and Australians were asked to mark one minute's silence at noon. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was among dignitaries who attended a nondenominational service at St Paul's Cathedral in the southern city of Melbourne.
At Marysville, where most houses were gutted by fire and 34 people died, survivors gathered at a sports field that became a refuge for many as flames roared around them on Black Saturday.
Marysville resident Rod Lyesfield spoke about trying to rebuild after the fires killed his wife and two sons.
"Losing someone you love is horrible, there's no way around it," he said. "You just have to go straight through the middle of the experience and pray that you'll come out the other side."
"Comforting platitudes are little use at those times. Joy will come in the morning, but first there is the night. The last 12 months has been a lot of night."
In Kinglake, another hard-hit town, survivors opened boxes filled with 173 butterflies at a ceremony on the town's football field - one for each person who died in the blazes - and tied yellow ribbons around charred trunks of trees.
On February 7 last year, hundreds of fires raged across southeastern Australia as temperatures soared and powerful winds whipped blazes into firestorms. In a single day, 173 people were killed and more than 2,000 homes razed.
The scale of the disaster dubbed Black Saturday deeply shocked Australia, where hundreds of wildfires scorch vast areas of forest and farmland every summer but rarely cause deaths.
A national day of mourning was observed, flags lowered to half-staff on government buildings and Australians were asked to mark one minute's silence at noon. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was among dignitaries who attended a nondenominational service at St Paul's Cathedral in the southern city of Melbourne.
At Marysville, where most houses were gutted by fire and 34 people died, survivors gathered at a sports field that became a refuge for many as flames roared around them on Black Saturday.
Marysville resident Rod Lyesfield spoke about trying to rebuild after the fires killed his wife and two sons.
"Losing someone you love is horrible, there's no way around it," he said. "You just have to go straight through the middle of the experience and pray that you'll come out the other side."
"Comforting platitudes are little use at those times. Joy will come in the morning, but first there is the night. The last 12 months has been a lot of night."
In Kinglake, another hard-hit town, survivors opened boxes filled with 173 butterflies at a ceremony on the town's football field - one for each person who died in the blazes - and tied yellow ribbons around charred trunks of trees.
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