Currowan

Ignited by a lightning strike in a remote forest, the Currowan fire was one of the most terrifying episodes of Australia's Black Summer. It burnt for seventy-four days, consuming nearly 5,000 square kilometres of land, destroying well over 500 homes, and leaving many people shattered. In the aftermath, there were questions. Why were resources so few that many faced the flames alone? Why was there back-burning on a day of extreme fire danger? Why weren't they better prepared? Bronwyn Adcock fled the inferno with her children. Her husband, firefighting at the front, rang with a plea for help before his phone went dead, leaving her to fear whether he would make it out alive. Now Bronwyn tells her story, and those of many others - what they saw, thought, and felt as they battled that blaze of never-before-seen intensity.