SA residents still rebuilding a decade after blaze
It's been ten years since a bushfire raged through inaccessible terrain and scrubland in South Australia's Southern Flinders. Victims of the Bangor bushfire say they're still rebuilding from what they lost a decade ago, but there have been some change for the better.
Transcript
00:00 What started as a small fire 25km north east of Port Pirie was described by firefighters
00:09 the following morning as the size of two football ovals.
00:16 Sheep farmer Robin Pohl can still remember the constant smell of smoke.
00:20 "Only about a k down the road that starred so everything around here was black."
00:26 Robin lost 180 sheep.
00:30 He says his flock and finances have only just recovered and there's still repair work to
00:36 be done.
00:37 "An awful lot of fencing to do which I still have, haven't finished."
00:41 The fire burnt through 70% of Margo and David Bleasing's property.
00:47 Their vines weren't burnt but that season's vintage was discarded due to smoke taint,
00:53 a loss that insurance didn't cover.
00:55 "I sold a lot of scrap metal that year and it got an income of some sorts."
01:01 Despite their hardships the Bleasing's never considered giving up and accept that fire
01:07 is a part of regional life.
01:09 "Time has a habit of making things better, you obviously never forget what it's been
01:15 like."
01:16 In the 31 days the fire blazed, 35,000 hectares of land was burnt, 5 homes were destroyed
01:22 and more than 700 sheep were killed.
01:25 But the country fire service says the outcome would have been much worse if it hadn't
01:29 had access to the Port Pirie Aerodrome.
01:32 At the aerodrome there's one of the most lasting changes from the blaze.
01:37 Before the fire the CFS hadn't used it.
01:40 Now it's a permanent dedicated airbase and training facility for the agency.
01:45 "Because the fire was so big and so close they brought in portable areas and trailers
01:51 and trucks and tankers to supply the water."
01:55 Witnessing how important the CFS's aerial bombers were in suppressing the fire, Steve
02:01 Joyce was inspired to join the team.
02:03 "They work so well to protect assets and people and houses."
02:09 A resource on the ready should the worst strike again.
02:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]