There was plenty of excitement in Karuah last week during the fires and while we weren’t in any real danger, we found ourselves smack bang in the middle of all the action in the sky above us.
First we were treated to the unusual sight of a DC10 as it flew low over the house on its way to dump retardant. Then there were the helicopters, all shapes and sizes constantly taking off and landing at the Karuah sports ground to refill their water buckets.
But the highlight of this aerial display (and incredibly, not mentioned anywhere in the media) were the small float planes. Two of them flew so low over the house that you could wave to the pilots.
With their turbo prop engines roaring, they swooped low down our backyard to the river where they landed on the water, skimmed along the surface to refill the floats, then back up into the air again and off to the fireground to dump their load.
We watched them for a couple of hours, amazed at the skill and daring of the pilots. We tried to get some good pics but they came in so fast it was almost impossible to get a decent close-up.
So from all of us here at Karuah, a big thank you to the RFS, the helicopters, the DC10 and our brave little float planes. Without you all it could have been a very different story.
The local Chemist shop has an “RFS Thank You Book” for people to write in – and so we wrote:
“We’re here, because you were here".
Well said Annette! A big
Well said Annette! A big thank you too to those generous volunteers, including many locals, who put in long hours fighting this fire. They deserve both our appreciation and our admiration.