By Rowan Forster
A stunning tale of survival has emerged from the ashes of the Black Saturday inferno, a decade on from the notorious disaster.
As the catastrophic fires swept through Labertouche, a couple feared for the worst – realising their cherished horses were roaming their Labertouche North Road homestead.
While Lynne and her husband weren’t home at the time, the two horses were.
However, as it unfolded, the animals had sought refuge in a tiny lake on the sprawling property, only a handful of metres from where the blaze brushed through.
Throughout the community, many described it as a “miraculous outcome”.
Ian Stevens, who was passing by, first, witnessed the horses up to their chests in the lake.
“I wanted to help them but it was just too dangerous,” he said.
“They knew exactly what was happening.
“We lost so many lives that day, but you can only imagine how many animals, livestock and nature was killed as well.”
The horses reportedly stayed in the lake until the sprawling grass fire was cleared from the property.
For Lynne, it was a silver lining in a day of destruction.
She told the Gazette it was one of her “fondest memories”, discovering her horses alive, despite the events of February, 2009 being shrouded by tragedy.
Labertouche was devastated after the Bunyip Ridge fire escaped containment lines, with the fire roaring out of the park to destroy 24 homes and more than 2500 hectares of agricultural land.
While the horses have since passed on, Lynne says it is a memory that she will never forget.
She said she even felt guilt and selfishness, showing concern for her animals when a countless number of people had succumbed to the firestorm.
To date, many Labertouche residents hold contempt for the handling of Black Saturday, or more notably, the lack of preventative measures taken in the lead up.
“Bunyip State Park hadn’t been burnt off, for the most part, in 70 years,” Mr Stevens claimed.
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but you have to think that some fuel reduction could have stopped it from flaring up as much as it did.
“If anything is to come of such a terrible tragedy, hopefully it is the knowledge that we need to burn off excessive growth and shrubs.”
February 2019 marks 10 years since the 2009 Victorian Bushfires, one of Australia’s worst natural disasters.
If this has caused you distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
