Australian bushfires: Kiwi 'dodges bullet' after staying to defend home

A house in Balmoral, in southwestern Sydney, burns as the bushfires close in on the area last month. Photo / News Ltd

Kiwi man Joe Hooper says he's "absolutely exhausted" after staying up all night waiting to defend his New South Wales property from the bushfires which are ravaging several states in Australia.

Hooper and wife Stella own a property at Bergalia, a little settlement on a peninsula on the Canberra coast.

However, fortunately the fires never arrived but last night he told the Herald he was prepared to fight for his home despite the ferocity of the blazes which have taken multiple lives.

Hooper had set up his home with a sprinkler and fire system; he'd been dousing the outside of his property in the lead-up to news that the flames were coming.

He had also turned the ensuite of his home into a "safe room" where he had access to water and towels and if worst came to worst, he could keep himself cool.

When spoken to this morning, Hooper said he was pleased but feeling flat after the monster fires never reached his house.

"Oh I'm exhausted. We dodged a bullet. I've been up pretty much all night but the whole house is covered in ash and soot and burnt leaves and so on, so yeah we're okay but our danger is still out there. We've still got a lot of leaf litter and twigs.

"It will only take a spark and it'll be up and away."

Hooper said he doesn't know what happened but the fierce flames that were on track to their property never arrived.

"We were lucky. Other places have gone but where we are we're in area of probably about 5 to 8 square kilometres, we're on a little bit of a peninsula.

"Sometimes people will get a heap of rain and we'll get nothing and sometimes we'll get rain and other people don't. It's just one of those wind pockets."

Asked how his night was, Hooper said they all lost power. He was left with a generator -which also didn't work - and a petrol fire pump which fortunately wasn't needed.

He wasn't alone though. Four other property owners also stayed behind and were being kept informed by residents about 10km away who were letting them know the fire's behaviour throughout the night.

"All is good and we're happy that nothing happened but oh, there's a lot of people who still lost their homes at different places last night.

"It is scary but I suppose it's worrying in a way. The only thing that's going to pull us out of this is rain and that's something that we haven't had."

Hooper said the normal rainfall for his area is 1000 to 1100mm a year. In 2019 they got about 430mm.

"So that's a significant drop. But it's not only our area, there's a lot areas in Australia that haven't had the rain."

The experience of staying behind had left him mentally and physically exhausted. He's not sure if he'll go through it again.

Crews monitor fires and begin back burns between the towns of Orbost and Lakes Entrance in east Gippsland earlier this week. Photo / Getty Images

"Everyone has to make a decision and after last night I'm not sure I'd stay back again. It's sort of gut-wrenching but the funny thing is after all that, nothing happened and you feel flat.

"It didn't come and it's the best outcome you could ever want, but you still have that threat, that's the thing."

Wife Stella said her husband was a bit "mad" for staying behind but she knew she couldn't change his mind.

By this morning she said she was an "emotional mess" after fleeing to stay at a friend's house.

"I have been on edge the whole time. I'm an emotional mess as well. I couldn't stay, it's not in me to cope but then feeling guilty for going and not being here to help.

"It's a real seesaw."

She said she hadn't been able to contact several friends around Batemans Bay, north of Bergalia, which only added to the stress.

Although they'd dodged a bullet they knew the fires were still "totally out of control" and she appreciated all the work the firefighters and Government was doing to help.

"You should see the terrain ... this is unprecedented .. it's so widespread."

Having just arrived when the Herald called today, Stella, who took family cat Banjo with her to safety, said all she was looking forward to now was giving her husband a big hug.

"He was asleep when I got home ... and I haven't had my big hug yet."