With wildfires threatening their town for more than a week, many people in Burragate have had enough. If the fire is going to burn through their town, they say, then they want it to get on with the job so they can start cleaning up.
In this Jan. 10, 2020, photo, firefighters and army personnel gather in a common room at the Rural Fire Service fire house at Burragate, Australia. It seemed imminent to those hunkering at the fire station that "The Beast" would finally roar through. But on this night the wildfire only crept closer, prodding forward a few tentative fingers before going dormant again as the winds died.
“I’d prefer it not to come, but if it’s going to come, stop teasing,” said resident Joe Seamons, who has taken to describing what’s officially called the Border Fire as “The Beast.”Across Australia, wildfires have killed at least 27 people, including a firefighter on Saturday, and burned down more than 2,000 homes since September.
On Friday night, with strong winds expected to make the fire flare up, a convoy of trucks — including some from the army and others carrying a strike team of volunteer firefighters — rolled into town. At one point, more than 30 people were at the station, hoping to save lives and homes but prepared to retreat inside if the flames were too intense.
Seamons, who is retired, said he and his wife moved to Burragate because they didn’t want to live in a crowded town any longer. But he said their lifestyle has been affected by three years of drought, with his garden plants dying and his apple trees not producing any fruit.
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