For the first time since black summer, I unpacked our sizeable bushfire evacuation bag in the middle of winter, hoping that wet conditions meant there’d be no need to use it. At last the load of bottled water, photo albums, protective clothing and bolt cutters (to get through fences if we need to escape cross-country) wasn’t in the way every time I lost my slippers behind the bedroom door.
Spring was still cool and wet when my partner, Richard, and I heard about the interstate triple-zero outages. When the news came of regional New South Wales residents also being left without a way to raise emergency services, our region was experiencing the heat and wind that usually heralds the threat of fast-moving bushfires.
