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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-14 Daily Xml
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CHERRYVILLE FIRE

Mr GARDNER (Morialta) (15:36): Today I rise to speak about the Cherryville fire, which occurred significantly within the electorate of Morialta. As members would be aware, the fire was first reported at 2.20pm on Thursday 9 May after a burn-off being conducted by a Fernhurst Lane resident got out of control and spread. It ran uphill near Fernhurst Lane and burnt across the Sixth Creek. CFS brigades from Lobethal, Lenswood, Forest Range, Basket Range, Norton Summit, Ashton, Montacute, Summertown, Carey Gully and of course Cherryville responded very quickly. These were to be the first of many fire appliances to attend the area over the next few days, and I met with volunteers from as far afield as Nuriootpa, Salisbury, and further afield still, who came to help out.

On Friday, shortly after I, together with the minister, the Premier and Deputy Leader of the Opposition (the shadow minister for emergency services), attended the Uraidla town hall for an update from the CFS on the fire, along with some 50 or 60 local residents, tragedy struck when the fire jumped control lines and impacted upon Blockers Road. Crews did what they could to save properties but, as is the case in all bushfires, there could not be a fire truck in every driveway and some of these houses were determined to be undefendable. I do not envy the CFS volunteers and staff who have to decide which houses to save and which houses to leave. Unfortunately, one house was lost on this occasion.

Members can imagine that losing a home is far more than losing just the building and the items within it; it is memories. Part of who we are as individuals is the home we build around us. As their local member, my heart goes out to the family who has lost their home, and I wish them all the best in getting back on their feet. The local community is supporting them strongly. It has been heart warming to see the way so many have contributed either their labour or their financial support to ensure that this family suffers the least hardship that is possible in this difficult time.

I bring to the attention of members and members of the public the mycause.com.au website, which is running an appeal. If you go to that website you search for 'help the Billing family' and you will have the opportunity to contribute directly, as I know a number of people have taken the opportunity to do. I certainly encourage those who have supported that cause, and it has been very good to see.

On Friday night, along with the federal member for Mayo (Jamie Briggs), the deputy leader and several hundred local residents, we got a further briefing at the Uraidla Institute—and certainly those who could not attend the briefing then had to suffer through a very sleepless night on Friday night. Many were fighting off fires in their backyards that got as close as 10 or 20 metres from their houses on their properties. I heard many of those stories. It was a challenging time, and by the time that the next community briefing came along at midday on Saturday, which I was also pleased the minister made himself available at for the community to speak to, a further shed had been lost. At that stage, it was 605 hectares that had been burnt, and I understand from the minister that the final figure was around 650 hectares. It was a significant fire.

At that stage, there were concerns about the proximity of the fire to Cherryville, between track 17 and Cherryville. Residents had to deal with the significant problems of power outages and access to their property. I think it was dealt with in a very professional manner by the department and the South Australia Police, and I certainly commend the police for the work they did in managing the road closures and keeping a rolling update of those who were going to be allowed back into their properties as best they could. None of these things can ever be dealt with perfectly.

I am concerned at the number of people who cycled or drove up to take personal photos and things of that nature—I think that is unfortunate. But, by and large, by the time the rain came down on Saturday afternoon, what we had seen was hundreds of CFS volunteers, some units from towns that had sent both appliances for their towns to help out Cherryville and the surrounding community, and SES volunteers. Jamie Briggs and I went out to meet the Salvation Army volunteers, who were putting together sandwiches for the communities, and St John Ambulance volunteers, who were providing eye washes and other medical treatment to the CFS volunteers.

At those shift changeovers, there were hundreds of volunteers all on that oval in Lenswood. The supplies and the volunteer work that were there to support them were significant, and I know that the local community and the residents are very grateful to the CFS volunteers. As their representative in this parliament, I want to place on the record our very deep gratitude to all of those volunteers who put their safety on the line.

Time expired.

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