Carwoola Fire 2017
The Carwoola community was badly impacted by the Taliesin fire on 17 February 2017
A community disaster
The Taliesin fire was a major disaster for our community and was covered by all the major news outlets
A community disaster
The Taliesin fire burned around 3100 hectares, starting on one side of Carwoola and out the other side. This picture was taken by the Air Attack Supervisor as the fire was crossing Widgiewa Road
A community disaster
Eight homes in the Carwoola area were destroyed. Thankfully, no lives were lost
Defending properties
Many homes were able to be defended and saved by fire crews
Smoke column
The fire started around midday on 17 Feb, a Total Fire Ban day. At the height of the fire the smoke column could be seen clearly from Canberra, here seen from Mount Ainslie
Early stages
The fire started up in the Taliesin estate and headed south-east over the hills towards Widgiewa Road. Units from Stoney Creek & Queanbeyan were unable to stop it here.
Crossing Widgiewa Road
The fire crossed Widgiewa Road on a front of over 3 kilometres
Captains Flat Road
The fire then crossed Captains Flat Road on a wide front and swept out onto the Hoskingtown Plain
Grass fire on Hoskingtown Plain
The fire on the Hoskingtown Plain was also very intense but and was eventually pulled up short of the village
A dangerous fire overrun
In the middle of it all, three crews were overrun by fire on Widgiewa Road, with two firefighters injured.
Injuries
In the smoky confusion of the overrun, one firefighter was crushed between two trucks and another was burned
Supporting Crews
Up to 70 crews/tankers from far and wide came to assist, with support from other agencies such as F&RNSW, NSW Police, Ambulance, SES, QPRC, Local Land Services and many more
Staging area
Our fire station and the Community Hall became a large staging area. Lots of community support came out to assist
Aerial support
The DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker along with 3 C-130 Hercules air tankers and 11 helicopters assisted
Road blocks
The Police quickly established road blocks to ensure people did not get caught in a rapidly evolving situation. Unfortunately this also meant some were not able to get back to their homes
Rescuing horses
Many horses were rescued by their owners, neighbours and Misty Stebbing's ACT Equine Rescue network
Command Post
A Divisional Command post was set up at the end of Widgiewa Road to oversee that part of the fire with lots of residents anxiously seeking information
On the flanks
Properties in both the Bowen Street and Douglas Close areas experienced some very close calls as the fire skirted those areas
After it was all over
An aerial view of most of the fireground, looking west back towards Canberra
Community Appeal
An appeal for funds was made to support those affected and the people of Canberra & Queanbeyan (and many others) contributed very generously
Supporting our community
While we did our best to help the community recover, the Carwoola community also came out in force to say thank you to all those who came to their aid
Garden Aid
Carwoola community members wanted to step in and help. One wonderful way was Garden Aid set up by Megan Dixon and supported by many to help affected residents begin reestablishing their damaged gardens
Wildlife
As in so many bushfires, a large number of our wildlife were affected. Our local Wildcare volunteers were out early trying to reach as many of them as possible
Recognising Trauma
Our Brigade received visits from both the NSW State Governor, LTGEN Hurley and the Governor General, GEN Cosgrove