Carn man donates house to Aussie fire victims
Carndonagh native Gerry Harkin, who nearly lost his home in the Australian fires last weekend, has donated a house to neighbours who survived the inferno.
Gerry and his wife Catherine have a farm at Strathcreek, and his daughter Carina, who returned to Ireland just after Christmas, was living in another of his houses, at Flowerdale, about 15 km away. Both areas were among those ravaged by the blazes which claimed more than 180 lives in the southern state of Victoria. While the lands and buildings adjoining both properties were completely destroyed, the Harkin's houses escaped virtually unscathed. Carina's mother, Tina McDaid from Moville, was also at the centre of fires in Marysville and is currently helping out at the Red Cross relief centre in Narbethong.
Gerry has donated the house in Flowerdale to Carina's neighbours who have been left homeless. "I'd like to see it put to good use. I want some of Carina's neighbours, who have lost so much, to have the use of it."
Gerry's wife Catherine, with extraordinary understatement, says of their ordeal, "We had a nervous weekend."
Gerry was at his farm when fire struck on Saturday afternoon. "The fire came right up the hill next to our farm. It had burned everything in its path. It was so hot, about 48 degrees, with even hotter winds from the north. The heat was so intense and the winds were so high, you couldn't imagine it - it was like a fire tornado. And smoke was everywhere, so it was almost impossible to know where the fire was coming from or going.
"Then the winds changed direction and came from the west. It was very lucky for me, although we're not out of the woods yet - it still hasn't rained. But the effect of the wind change couldn't have been more devastating. Before it, the fire was almost a straight line, burning north to south. Once the wind changed, though, it spread wider and wider. And it moved so quickly, no one had a chance.
"The fire started about 30-40km away, but it must have been moving at about 120mph, because it was on us in about 15 minutes. And then the worst of it was over just as quickly.
"It was the same at my daughter's house in Flowerdale. All the houses in the street, except Carina's and one or two others, were completely destroyed. The fire came right up the fence and burnt her hot tub to the ground. The flames were fuelled by oil from the Eucalyptus trees, which gassified. But then it moved away.
"I went out that evening and the trees were all still glowing red. The fire had got into the base of the trees and was burning from within, so that, a few days later, they started to fall over.
"Carina's mother Tina was in the worst of it in Marysville. She was trying to drive away, but had to abandon the car and take shelter in a stone hut. The flames around her were fuelled by oil from the Eucalyptus trees, which gassified, making the whole place into a blast furnace. A lot of people went to Marysville to seek shelter, as it's a mountain resort. But the town just exploded. Dozens of people died there, many of them were Tina's neighbours."
Despite the traumatic experience, Gerry's love for his new home remains undimmed. "This part of Australia can be the most beautiful place on earth. But it can also be the cruellest."
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Weather for Derry
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
