Panorama 2020 E38
Panorama 2020 E38
Transcript
00:00It was really difficult to see. We had trees burning on either side. We were worried about
00:09them coming down. It's been a year since fires spread across
00:13Australia, scorching and charring at a speed never seen before.
00:19The flame heights were jumping to the 60, 70 metre mark, well in excess of the crown
00:23of the trees. At least 33 people died. An area bigger than
00:29the size of England laid to waste. What's been called an apocalypse, a nightmare,
00:35looking like the gates of hell. The sky just constantly was changing colour
00:42and it just got darker and darker and darker until the fires hit us.
00:48I'm Clive Myrie and I witnessed the destruction. Blown by these really strong winds and these,
00:57these are the conditions that the authorities have been having to deal with during this
01:01appalling bushfire season. It's a disaster, a national disaster.
01:07A year on, we hear dramatic accounts from those living in the path of the flames.
01:12Mate, you need to get out, don't go back in. And the firefighters who risked their lives
01:18to save people. Their truck is dead.
01:24With testimony from Australian broadcaster ABC and footage recorded by those on the front
01:30line. Oh, it's massively hot in here.
01:33This is the story of Australia's worst bushfires in living memory.
01:38I can't believe this. How did this happen?
01:41The destruction was immense. A landscape transformed.
01:52Over six months, more than 3,000 houses and buildings destroyed.
01:57I was there. I'd never seen anything like it.
02:02Walls of heat and fire, 10, 20, 30, 40 kilometres wide.
02:14Bushfires are a fact of life in Australia, but this time was different.
02:25After two years of drought, the fires had started early and quickly spread down the
02:30east coast. The onrush of heat and fire killing thousands of animals.
02:35It is really, really disturbing. That is just such a waste.
02:42It's uncharted territory in New South Wales this evening, according to emergency officials
02:48in the state. They are battling an unprecedented number of emergency level fires.
02:54In Nimboida, a rural New South Wales hamlet, residents hoped the local river might protect them.
03:03On the Friday, when the fire came through, it was travelling on the other side of the
03:07Nimboida River and we had north-westerly winds. But at about six o'clock, I got a phone call
03:12from a local saying that it had jumped the river and the wind had changed. You could
03:18feel the wind change to come from the south and that was unexpected. And the fire became
03:24so huge that it created its own weather and we had 80 kilometre winds and it was just
03:30roaring along. There was nothing you could do.
03:33Then Tony and her husband got a call. They had 10 minutes to get out. Jumping into their
03:39truck or ute, they tried to outrun the flames.
03:42At first, there was no fire. You couldn't see anything. It was just pitch black. And
03:46then we turned one of the corners on the dirt road that we live on and the fire front was
03:52right there, just sweeping across the road as we drove through it.
04:02I don't know.
04:03I don't know.
04:11I can't believe this. How did this happen?
04:16We were driving at about 30km an hour. Embers everywhere across the front of the car and
04:22we could hear sticks and logs and things falling into the back of the ute. And with visibility
04:29so low, I had to direct my partner left or right, left, right, so that we'd stay on the
04:34road.
04:49The whole time we were driving and escaping, it's there. You're thinking that if there's
04:54a tree down, we're not going to get out. Have we made this decision and we might die on
04:58the road? Yeah. So you're second-guessing yourself the whole time.
05:03We're out. We're past it.
05:07Jesus Christ.
05:13Tony's house survived, but 85 homes in her town were destroyed in the November fires.
05:20We had nearly 100 fires and probably just under half of them were not contained. On
05:26the worst of the days in November there, I think we got to 17 fires burning concurrently
05:31at emergency warning alert level. So you're talking the highest level of risk, you're
05:35talking the highest level of exposure and the potential for the greatest loss.
05:42Strong winds spread the fires across the dry forests of New South Wales. A volunteer firefighter
05:48in the small town of Hillville recorded his journey.
05:51It was really difficult to see. We had trees burning on either side. We were worried about
05:57them coming down. Visibility was about two metres or so in front. The smoke was just
06:05so thick, you just could not see through it.
06:07Last summer broke records in Australia. In each of its six states, temperatures topped
06:1240 degrees Celsius. The intense heat helped to create mega blazes, where two or more bush
06:19fires meet. Villages in the Blue Mountains, just 50 minutes' drive from Sydney, were
06:25at the mercy of the flames.
06:27I actually noticed when a small spot fire started up, maybe 400 metres away from where
06:33we were. There was a helicopter, water bomb, I don't know, I think it was a helicopter
06:39or a fire truck. I think it was a helicopter or a fire truck.
06:45It was a massive fire.
06:47I actually noticed when a small spot fire started up, maybe 400 metres away from where
06:53we were. There was a helicopter, water bomb, picked it up, actually was trying to put it
07:00out but the bush was so dry, it had no hope. And then very quickly, it started spotting
07:07even closer. And within minutes, suddenly there were huge flames bearing down on us.
07:14The noise of the fire, we could hear coming up the valley. The embers were getting thicker
07:18and falling faster. And then we could actually see flame.
07:24Yeah, spot fires galore down here. We're talking about 60, 70 metre flame heights.
07:2860, 70 metre flame mark.
07:32Captain Duff led a team of male and female volunteer firefighters. This was one of many
07:37emergency calls for help.
07:40Flame heights were jumping to the 60, 70 metre mark, well in excess of the crown of
07:46the trees. The spot fires were just developing rapidly everywhere, all the way around us.
07:59There was no chance we were going to stop it. It was so big. There was so much flame
08:04everywhere that, I mean, we just had some little hoses.
08:09Jochen with staff and neighbours fought to save the Eco Cabin Resort where he worked.
08:16It was at that point, it sort of got a little bit chaotic for me. And yeah, I probably got
08:23quite a bit scared actually. Not sure where to go. It looked like everywhere was burning.
08:30And yeah, it was a good few minutes where I really thought I was going to get burnt
08:37badly or this might be it.
08:42They shouted in a fire bunker. When they emerged, the cabins were still standing, but
08:47almost everything else was gone.
08:49Tango 88 to 1-4-3-1. Requesting assistance. Over.
08:58Close down. Close that line of fire.
09:03In mid-December, two volunteer firefighters were amongst the first rescue workers to pay
09:08the highest price.
09:11I think it was not shorter, just before midnight, that I got a phone call from my deputy who
09:15indicated that they'd got reports from the field about an awful accident involving some
09:20firefighters and the reports were for serious injuries and potentially fatalities.
09:26The loss of two volunteer firefighters who died last night while fighting a blaze southwest
09:31of Sydney represents a grim new low point in the current bushfire emergency.
09:37Deputy Captain Geoffrey Keaton and firefighter Andrew O'Dwyer were killed when a falling
09:42tree caused their vehicle to roll.
09:45It completely guts you, but not only a fatality, a double fatality depriving us of two
09:52extraordinary individuals.
09:55There is nothing you can prepare for for that. There's no rule book for that.
10:05At the end of the year, fires raged in Australia's southernmost mainland state, Victoria.
10:11One family living on a remote farm became engulfed.
10:17It was a Monday and for the past few days the sky had been looking really smoky.
10:24So we were just keeping an eye out all day watching the sky and by the afternoon
10:30things really started picking up and the sky just constantly was changing colour
10:36and it just got darker and darker and darker until the fires hit us.
10:41Whoa, kangaroo!
10:44Okay, it's coming this way.
10:47Did I get the other part going?
10:50What?
10:52What can I do?
10:54Just follow us.
10:55Yeah?
11:00It really seemed to smash us.
11:03Being on top of the hill fairly rapidly and it wasn't one single wind direction
11:09the whole time. It was like the sky was filled with insects that were flying
11:15in every direction and you'd be getting burnt on the front of your face
11:18and the backs of my ears at the same time.
11:21Father and daughter, Sean and India, have just three tanks of water
11:25to protect the house and outbuildings.
11:28The smoke that was being blown directly at me was just the thickest smoke
11:34I've ever experienced.
11:37It was, yeah, my main issue and fear was the amount of smoke I was breathing in.
11:47Oh no!
11:49No, no, no, no.
11:55The hose is burnt!
11:56The hose is burnt!
12:03I don't know how that would have gone if that hose was actually completely screwed
12:10because the structure that was on fire, our house was, that was the closest
12:14the fire got to our house and it was quite scary because I thought we were
12:18going to lose the house but somehow we both got to that structure on time
12:25and sort of dealt with it.
12:43It would have been a good hour and a half where it was quite intense
12:47and we were running around quite crazily and then wind did start to die down
12:57and it was quite a big relief then knowing that the worst of it had passed
13:06and that we were going to be OK.
13:12They made it by the skin of their teeth.
13:17I'm just absolutely amazed at how well India did with it all.
13:22I know many adults that were peaking too early and had left, ran away
13:27and I couldn't have blamed India for wanting to do that but she wanted to stay
13:32and I'll forever be very proud of what I saw her doing that night.
13:38It was, yeah, amazing.
13:41In December, the historic town of Cobargo saw a level of destruction
13:45usually reserved for war zones.
13:47The damage took my breath away.
13:50Ronnie Ayliffe leads me through the shattered village.
13:53It's pretty tough to live next to this and see all the things that were in my street.
14:01A local farmer had filmed what had happened.
14:04Us, myself and my wife were quite lucky.
14:07It sort of burnt to the creek and then went around us to a degree,
14:12took all the back end of our farm out.
14:15But from me onwards, it was like a war zone.
14:19Aaron Solway's family have been dairy farmers here for five generations.
14:24I kept ringing my brother, which is my neighbour.
14:28Is he OK? And he said it was on hell for lever for him.
14:33I tried ringing my dad and my other brother, couldn't raise him.
14:40So I just jumped in the ute.
14:42And I didn't know my ute could jump logs two foot high, but it did on the road.
14:49I got to my parents' place and my mother was sitting on the porch outside
14:55with her head in her lap saying they're gone.
15:00And that was just, I didn't know what to feel.
15:04I didn't, I sort of looked where they were.
15:07And they were, yeah, they were gone, they were gone.
15:10It was, it was terrible.
15:12Like they were only 40 metres from the house.
15:14Something must have, like a fireball must have just dropped on them.
15:17And yeah, it was tough. It was tough.
15:21Yeah.
15:24Aaron lost his father and his brother, Patrick.
15:29It's beyond hard.
15:32You know, it's hard for, hard for Patrick
15:38because he's left a, you know, three-year-old kid behind.
15:46I've sort of want to step up to be like a, you know, a father to his son.
15:57You know, he's going to need that guidance a little bit.
16:00I really feel that Patrick would want that.
16:06Amid the loss and pain, there were stories of survival too.
16:13Ah, yes.
16:14Do you remember seeing that one?
16:15Yes, I do remember seeing that one.
16:17Yes, because that truck actually got destroyed.
16:23This video went viral, filmed literally in the heat of battle by firefighters
16:28in South Nowra, New South Wales.
16:31Jasper Croft is in the lead vehicle.
16:33It was quite a sunny day.
16:34There was no clouds in the sky other than a large smoke cloud.
16:38Kyle Barton is in one behind.
16:41We were driving along.
16:42We could see a long way into the distance,
16:44there was a considerable amount of smoke.
16:46So we knew something was going on down there,
16:48but we didn't know to what extent.
16:50It turned from day to night within a matter of seconds.
16:53We started experiencing an ember attack.
16:55When we proceeded down the road,
16:57the wind started to change direction
16:59and we noticed the ember attack was getting heavier and faster.
17:03It wasn't until we got around the final bend
17:05that my driver just said,
17:06no way, this is way too dangerous.
17:08We can actually see the fire front now.
17:10We were about 50 metres behind the lead truck
17:12and I heard the lead truck,
17:14which was Jasper and his crew.
17:16They were putting messages through
17:18that what they could see 50 metres ahead
17:20was quite dangerous and they were going to retreat.
17:22And at that moment,
17:24Jasper and his crew,
17:26they were in the back of the truck
17:28and they heard a loud bang.
17:30It was a big bang.
17:31It was a big bang.
17:32It was a big bang.
17:33It was a big bang.
17:34It was a big bang.
17:35It was a big bang.
17:36It was a big bang.
17:37It was really dangerous
17:38and they were going to retreat.
17:39And at that moment,
17:40myself and my crew
17:41we saw exactly what they could see.
17:43We saw the flames had turned
17:46and were coming straight towards our convoy.
17:48One of my crew members Danny,
17:49he put up the fire blanket
17:51to keep that radiant heat
17:53coming through the windows.
18:00The heat, the flames,
18:01we could feel the heat coming through the truck.
18:03We could see the flames comssing in horizontally,
18:06which is very unusual to be in a situation to see flames moving
18:11horizontally in front of the windscreen and around the truck.
18:15We managed to get the truck turned around and facing the direction we had come from and we're beginning to make our retreat
18:23when the truck came to a complete standstill.
18:36I'm at latitude 34 or minus 34.97084.
18:44We believe the air brakes had melted or been destroyed by the flames, which caused the brakes to lock on,
18:52making the truck unable to move.
18:55So we were just sitting there having to wait it out inside the truck with flames hitting the side of it
19:02and smoke starting to creep in through the truck doors.
19:07Right, so this is probably the hardest part for us, is when we'd gone around Cale's truck we were receiving messages saying
19:16flashover, flashover, our truck is dead, our truck is dead.
19:32Their truck is dead.
19:37What do we do? Do we drive past them and leave them? Do we stop? Do we try and save them?
19:45At this stage, the emotions are sort of starting to get a bit heavy in there.
19:48We're trying to stay calm, but we're sort of panicking.
19:52If we went back to help these guys, we would have put ourself in danger and more than likely would have been suffocated.
20:00When we came up with a plan that when it was safe to exit, we were going to all get out and put our breathing equipment on.
20:05And we knew that the safest way for us to get out at that moment was to walk a kilometre back to safety
20:11would be a quicker, safer option than sitting tight in our burning truck, waiting for assistance to come to us.
20:18So we got out, we put our breathing equipment on, all four of us were safe at this point and uninjured,
20:23and we were able to make the walk out.
20:30All the firefighters survived to bear witness to their extraordinary escape.
20:37But across Australia, nine of their colleagues died trying to save others from the fire.
20:44Well, as the year and the decade come to an end, the country is burning.
20:48It's been labelled the worst fire season ever recorded.
20:52What's been called an apocalypse, a nightmare, looking like the gates of hell.
20:57Seeing in the new year brought little cheer.
21:02On the south coast, flames and fire ushered in 2020 as holiday resorts burned.
21:08Yeah, we were definitely expecting just the standard beautiful Malakuta holiday,
21:13full of being outdoors, being in the sun, being with family and friends.
21:17And that's certainly not how it panned out.
21:21It got panned out.
21:25It went from like a really thick, dusty, grey-orange colour of the smoke to really bright red to then pitch black.
21:35And that was, I think it was 8am on New Year's Eve that it was completely dark, as if it was the dead of night.
21:52As alarms sounded, it was too late to escape by land.
22:01When the sirens went off on the fire trucks, we all got together and got in the two boats, 13 of us.
22:09And literally by torchlight, we took it very slowly and we went about 500 metres offshore.
22:18We had the ABC radio on in the boat, so we were listening to constant updates.
22:25We had our masks on, we had hoods on, towels wrapped around our face and we just sat there in silence.
22:34When they got back to shore, they found close to 100 homes in their resort had been destroyed.
22:43At the same time, thousands were stranded on the south coast of New South Wales.
22:49We made the decision we were going to stay and we were going to go to the beach.
22:55Madeline Kelly was also on holiday. As fire swept in, she recorded what happened.
23:02I remember just being physically pushed by the winds, like that was the scariest moment for me.
23:07I was trying to stay calm because there were kids screaming, like shaking, there were kids screaming on the beach.
23:19Oh my God!
23:22There were heaps of gas bottles exploding, I think maybe some cars, I don't really know.
23:25We just heard sounds and we saw fire where we thought our houses were.
23:29We could see that some houses had already been completely like razed. There was not even a structure left, it was completely flattened.
23:38At another tourist spot, 70 miles away, David Petrovic and his family were forced to abandon their holiday home and seek safety on a nearby lake.
23:48As the fires approached, we all jumped in the boat pretty quickly.
23:55Looking back in the boat from the lake, it was hard to see anything, the smoke was that intense, the fires were burning, it was so hot.
24:04The wind was raging through there, I couldn't even keep the boat straight in the water.
24:09The lady next door was in the water up to her waist, she wouldn't get in the boat, but her house burnt down within 20 minutes.
24:19It happened that quickly. Kangaroos were jumping in through the water, steam coming off them.
24:27It was horrific what we saw and it's something that I'll never want to see again.
24:38But there were more horrors as the fire spread on Kangaroo Island, 8 miles off the southern coast. It's renowned for its unique wildlife.
24:53All of a sudden, it was right upon us, like within seconds, and we had time to say, get in the house.
25:03We got in the house and it just exploded all around us.
25:08Peter Davis, a local beekeeper, is visiting his son Ben. Suddenly, they're trapped.
25:16Oh, look at that, Ben. Thank God we got all that away.
25:28She's still going to go here because it's massively hot in here, in fact.
25:33Come on, piss off. Burn and piss off, will ya?
25:37No, you don't go into a room you can't get out of.
25:46Yeah, well, we tried. We saved two youths, unfortunately.
26:00As we were driving away, we drove slowly because there was still lots of dust and smoke.
26:10But we could see for vast distances where before you couldn't see further than the side of the road because there was no leaves on trees.
26:19There was just burnt sticks. There was dead animals everywhere, kangaroos, possums, koalas.
26:2725,000 koalas alone may have perished.
26:33Nearly half the island was burnt.
26:37There are fears that the scorched earth may never recover.
26:43In February, Australia's fires largely burnt out.
26:48The months of the destruction left a terrible legacy.
26:53It's thought nearly three billion animals had died or been displaced across Australia.
27:01The cost of the tourism, hospitality, agriculture and forestry industries could be well over three billion dollars.
27:18At least 33 people died.
27:22While smoke inhalation may have caused hundreds more premature deaths.
27:28This fire I'll never forget. I don't think my kids will ever forget it.
27:34It's sort of something that's going to be, say, scarred into my brain.
27:41I don't ever want to see it again.
27:43I think it's a turning point. That's how I'm going to remember it.
27:45It's going to be a turning point, you know, for everyone in Australia.
27:48It's going to help a lot of people worldwide as well, I think, just seeing the devastation of these fires.
27:57The new bushfire season has already begun.
28:01There's been more rain this year, which might dampen the severity this time round.
28:07But a recent inquiry says climate change clearly played a role last year and warns such devastation is likely to happen again.
28:16Australia must prepare itself.
28:25When it comes to male fertility, how do you keep healthy and what can you do if you're not?
28:30We follow Chris Hughes on his personal journey, me, my brother and our balls tonight at nine.
28:36Next, the lengths a mum will go to to protect her family on EastEnders.
28:46For more UN videos visit www.un.org