February 9, 2009. - It would have to be said that Walhalla's isolation has sometimes been its salvation, especially during periods of bushfire activity that have decimated other parts of the state, and this was never truer than on last weekend's "Black Saturday", when Victoria endured what must surely go down in the record books as one of Australia's worst bushfires ever. The tragic loss of so many lives and so much property, pets and livestock that occurred so swiftly and terrifyingly elsewhere skirted around our valley, as it has done more than once in the past, sheltered from the howling northerlies that scorched the rest of the state and drove the humidity down into single digits. Coupled with temperatures in the mid-40's, any spark anywhere couldn't help but blossom, and the last embers won't be extinguished until long after we receive widespread, soaking rain. If you don't live in the valley, and weren't there on "Black Saturday", you might have been surprised to have heard some radio reports that spoke of people being forced to spend the night in the Long Tunnel Extended mine, no doubt an outstanding bolthole in which to escape the flames, and one of a kind for the lack of which, sadly, many people elsewhere literally died on that day ... but as sometimes seems to be the case in these circumstances, the Walhalla reality isn't always necessarily quite what the media reports. If you saw the wind on that day, you would believe that it could have driven the fires over vast distances in a very short time, but there weren't any fires in our neighbourhood, were there?
Well, actually there were, to the near north between Rawson and the Thomson Dam, and as you'll see, before they could be brought under control, they quickly gave those in the valley a decent fright. Michael Leaney, at the Star Hotel, sent out this email on the following Monday (today) to reassure the town's many friends that yet again, Walhalla has emerged untouched by the damage that has so savagely afflicted the rest of the state.
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Where the fire crossed the road just north of Walhalla.
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The committee and members of the Walhalla Heritage and Development League join Michael in offering our sincerest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the conflagration, and to those it touched who survived, but who will be scarred both visibly and otherwise by its horrible impact for months and years to come.
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