Rules for our NEW FIRE WORLD
“ THEY have to look after themselves,” said the local fire boss who was briefing us. “You will focus on protecting the shop and the school.”
I’d asked the boss what we should do for any residents who stayed. The locals of the village and the surrounding district had been directed to leave. The forecast was for intense winds and an ember attack from the south that night. It was blunt prioritisation on our first day on the south coast of New South Wales.
He wasn’t criticising anyone who’d ignored the advice to evacuate. He was just wearily confirming our task that night. The little town had nearly gone the previous week – saved by a last minute wind change. There was a black line in the
