Fiery start to the New Year

I was hoping to post some pictures with this blog but Frank's camera seems to be suffering from its dunking in the sea while we were in Thailand and won't cooperate. [A reboot fixed that - Frank.]

I was hoping to spend New Year's Eve with Matt, Erin and Frank in Halls Gap but as it turned out I got called to a fire at about 4.30pm and didn't get back home until around 11.30am the following day, just before Matt and Erin had to head back to Melbourne. Frank stayed which was very nice of him [that's OK - Frank] as I had to go back to the fire at 7.30am on the Monday morning.
This fire was very different from the last one as it was much bigger (around 7,000 hectares) and mostly on private property. This makes it a "CFA fire" rather than a "DSE fire" which is what it is if it is on park or government land. It was rather sad to see some folk's houses go up in flames but considering the size of the fire and the speed at which it moved it could have been so much worse. It seemed surreal to see some houses still standing while everything around was burnt and blackened. One older couple who had stayed to protect their house had to watch while their neighbours' (who had left or weren't there that weekend) houses burnt down. How stressful it must be for all concerned, I really feel for them.
We have spent a lot of the last three days walking along the fireline creating a fire break using a tool called a rakehoe as either the area is too inaccessible by vehicle or the landowners don't want a bulldozer wide fire break. The next job is blacking out which involves checking for any hot spots and either putting them out with water if the truck will reach, or judicious use of rakehoe, axe, chainsaw etc.
I managed to get the photos off Frank's camera but now can't upload them :-(( [Fixed that too! Frank]