Tracey Shirran Parker was nervous as she settled in for the night on Wednesday with an Australian bush fire burning just 35 kilometres from her home in Canberra.
Thirty-five kilometres is not that far away, roughly the distance from Corner Brook to Pasadena.
“It’s my first time feeling dread,” said the Corner Brook native who has called Australia home for about 28 years.
Canberra is part of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in the state of New South Wales.
Tracey and her husband, Darryl Parker, had their cellphones charged and ready near their beds should they receive an alert from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
“This is the first time that the warning has said that the fires are expected to come into the ACT,” she said.
Tracey grew up on Kings Road, on Corner Brook's west side. Her parents and a sister still live in the city. She has a brother in Benoit’s Cove and another sister in Halifax.
She met Darryl, an Australian, while he was visiting friends in Corner Brook in 1991. They married in 1992 and she moved with him to Australia. The couple has three daughters and a son, who all live in Australia.
Now in the middle of its summer season with hot dry conditions, there are fires burning all over the country and New South Wales is in a state of alert.
“At the moment we’ve got a bit of a reprieve against the heat,” she said.
The temperatures have been in the 30s, but they’re expected to rise into the 40s by the weekend and higher temperatures will mean an increase in the fire rating.
On Thursday night, Tracey said the fire risk rating was listed as severe for Friday and an evacuation centre had been opened for people to move their horses to as a precaution.
As they try to go about normal life, Tracey said the fire is on everyone’s mind.
“Even though we don’t have a fire in front of us and can't see it, the waterbombers have been flying overhead. You only have to look outside and see the smoke. You step outside, you taste it, you’re breathing it in.
“It just makes it very real.”
Darryl shares his wife’s feelings of unease as the area between them and the fire is heavily timbered.
“You always remain wary, otherwise you could get yourself in trouble.”
He has seen many fires in his life and these are absolutely the worst.
“These fires are just everywhere.”
He can’t see any flames, but the smoke is very thick. He’s watching for ember attacks, burning debris that will be the first thing they’ll see as the fire moves closer.
Watching the devastation on the news is heartbreaking. About two hours away they’ve seen towns destroyed near a holiday resort they normally visit at this time of year.
“Within 10 kilometres away (from the resort) is just charcoal and devastation,” she said. “It would be like a fire going through Woody Point and taking out pretty much the whole scene.”
It’s a big financial loss as the towns rely on tourism in the summertime.
The couple had just returned to Canberra as the fires started — having spent June to October in Corner Brook.
As hard as it is, Tracey is relieved to be in Australia.
“Our children are all here.”
One daughter is in Melbourne, two live at home and their son lives five minutes from them. They also have three other young people staying with them.
“If we were over in Corner Brook now and this was happening, and my children were here in the house, I would be beside myself.”
She knows it’s hard on her family here and she’s staying in touch and passing along updates as often as she can.
Darryl said they’ll stay put until they see the firefront, but are ready to evacuate if necessary.
Following advisories to have an emergency bush fire plan, they have their cellphones charged and a kit ready with a change of clothes, food, water, important documents, batteries and flashlights. They also have the house prepared and have moved away from it anything combustible.
“We’re not going to try to defend it,” he said.
If they do have to leave, he said, they have no idea what they’ll see on their return.
“We hope for the best. Hopefully, what we’ve done is enough to ward off any damage from the ember attack. “But if the firefront comes through, you know, there’s no hope.”
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