Fire Emergency Report 1

The fires are creeping closer and the smoke is coming ahead of them. This is the view at the lower and more distant end of Hat Hill Road. If the Mt Gospers fire (our bit of it now officially designated the "Grose Valley fire") impacts Blackheath, this is one of the areas which may be affected first.

My first extra is a view of this road at the top end which is among the highest points in town. It is the same shooting position that I occupied for two consecutive postings a few days back. There, the smoke is  relatively clear but my main blip is shot from well within the smoke that you can see in the distance. 

My second extra shows the situation in the main street of town, Govetts Leap Road. Enough said. None of my pictures are processed in even the slightest way and my direct viewing of the situation confirms that they are exposed to reflect the situations as they actually look. 

For the first time I am having difficulty breathing and all outside excursions will see us wearing GP1 rated respirators. While we have considered evacuating now, it must be acknowledged that we are on the opposite side of town from where the fire will probably come. We expect that the north eastern/northern outskirts will be vigorously defended by aircraft and fire crews but few people may be available to stop spot fires in other parts of the town and so a good many homeowners may choose to stay in order to protect their properties from falling hot ash and burning embers which could ultimately ignite major blazes. Such action has avoided a lot of unnecessary property losses in the past.

Should the situation change, we may yet head out if time allows. I'll blip reports while power and internet access remain available. I won't be going to any vantage points. Unnecessary travel is being discouraged, to keep main roads clear for safe evacuations.

Here is the latest DEA Hotspot picture:
http://bit.ly/38ZpDKe