Last resort in a bushfire

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Like other parts of the world, Australia has some devastating bushfires from time to time. Fires are still fought by fire-fighting crews and local citizens but over the last few decades more and more fires seem to be invincible and often the only safe option is evacuation of an area. While we were interstate we saw this sign in many of the towns we passed through. Just the words ‘last resort’ are a bit chilling. The refuge is usually an oval or cleared paddock. Western Australia had a bushfire in 1961 which wiped out five or six small timber towns. Of these only Dwellingup was rebuilt. At one point during that fire, any people remaining in the town gathered at the football oval with one fire truck ready to defend them. No lives were lost but hundreds of homes were burnt to the ground. What a terrible day it would have been as there were no mobile phones and no communication with those outside the fire zone. No-one outside of the town knew if those remaining had survived or had lost their lives. Let’s hope there is little call for these ‘last resorts’.