BLACK CHRISTMAS BUSH FIRES
I was drawn to documenting the Black Christmas Bushfires literally because they were on my back doorstep. In NSW’s Blue Mountains, on 3rd January 2002 the sense of danger became palpable as volunteer Rural Bushfire Brigades teamed with regular NSW Fire Brigade crews to back-burn around townships in my vicinity – Springwood, Faulconbridge, Linden and the town my family calls home, Woodford. The fires raged from Christmas 2001 through until early January 2002. What interested me most was the effect of the fires on the community, on the individuals, the muted anxiety and consuming fear, not the fire-front itself.
At the time, I was also commissioned by Who Weekly magazine to shoot a series of portraits of families who had lost their properties in the fires. The two series formed the overall documentation of the events.
At its height, 10 000 firefighters fought a combined fire-front of 3200 kms. Over 3000 residents were evacuated and 117 properties lost and some 660 000 hectares of forest and National Parks destroyed.
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