Guest The Pom Queen Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I just wanted to say our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three young backpackers/student who were taken by the bushfire in WA this week. Life can be so cruel. The names of the three foreign nationals believed to have died in the Esperance bushfires have been released by police. Anna Winther, 29, from Norway, Julia Kohrs-Lichte, 19, from Germany, and Thomas Butcher, 31, from England, died on Tuesday trying to flee a fire between Grass Patch and Salmon Gums, north of Esperance, in southern Western Australia. The trio were working at Karranga farm when they decided to leave the property and head for Esperance. Farm owner Linda Campbell has said the three decided to leave the farm after Mr Butcher got nervous about staying and decided to try to save his horse. It is understood they turned the wrong way onto a road and ran into a wall of flames. "[Tom] was taking [the horse] to town. He decided before he got back from fighting the fire that he was going to take the horse and go to town and he must've given the girls the option to go with him and they jumped in," Ms Cambpell said. "He loved his horse so I know he's very attached to the horse but the tragedy is, the horse paddock is untouched." Ms Winther was working as a cook while studying at Curtin University in Perth, Ms Kohrs-Lichte was an apprentice farm-hand, and Mr Butcher was working as a mechanic. Ms Campbell said the two women had only been working on the farm for six weeks, while Mr Butcher had been with them since last November. "Tom was just part of the family, we ate together and I spent lots of time with Tom, we all did," she said. "We loved Tom. He was part of the family." She said she had been in contact with two of the workers' families, which had been "very difficult". Police said they had made contact with all of the families of the overseas workers and would continue to liaise with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quokka2005 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I was really sad to hear this the other day. Poor people Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Tragic! Bushfires scare the cr*p out of me! Sympathies to their family and friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Weren't there 4 people killed in the fire ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Weren't there 4 people killed in the fire ? There were. However, the names of the three backpackers have been reported separately in the press and Kate has posted the news story that named the 3 of them. The farmer had been named earlier in other news reports iirc. I think this story is here because its the WHV section of the forum and was about the 3 backpackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Tragic! Bushfires scare the cr*p out of me! Sympathies to their family and friends. I had colleagues caught up in the Kelmscott fires, they recount a truly terrifying experience seeing the flames coming towards their homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 The risk I think is heightened for WHV doing rural work who are not as familiar with bushfire danger and what you should do if facing one. It did seem to me they did everything wrong, left far too late, tried to outrun a fire etc etc. Things most of us have drummed into us as what not to do. But it might be the fault of the other worker who perhaps should have known better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 The risk I think is heightened for WHV doing rural work who are not as familiar with bushfire danger and what you should do if facing one. It did seem to me they did everything wrong, left far too late, tried to outrun a fire etc etc. Things most of us have drummed into us as what not to do. But it might be the fault of the other worker who perhaps should have known better. there was some question on the radio yesterday regarding the timing of warnings and the information given but i'm sure that will be looked into and people are being asked not to criticise services until that information is known. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 It is very sad. I was was at work at Norseman when it happened and we could see the fire. I was with my assistant and we saw what was initially a small bush fire that morning and we were heading through thick bush south. By the afternoon it had gone from what looked like something the size of a bonfire, to covering the horizon. That night, a lot of salmon gums were evacuated to Norseman and then, unknown to me, a warning was issued for Norseman and it was travelling at 100km an hour. Fortunately the wind changed again and we and the town were spared. Sadly, my assistant discovered afterwards that the Norwegian girl was her ex partner. She didn't even know she was working in the area. She is obviously very upset. We were watching the fire, unknowing that her ex partners was dying in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 It is very sad. I was was at work at Norseman when it happened and we could see the fire. I was with my assistant and we saw what was initially a small bush fire that morning and we were heading through thick bush south. By the afternoon it had gone from what looked like something the size of a bonfire, to covering the horizon. That night, a lot of salmon gums were evacuated to Norseman and then, unknown to me, a warning was issued for Norseman and it was travelling at 100km an hour. Fortunately the wind changed again and we and the town were spared. Sadly, my assistant discovered afterwards that the Norwegian girl was her ex partner. She didn't even know she was working in the area. She is obviously very upset. We were watching the fire, unknowing that her ex partners was dying in it. OMG Stormy, so sorry for your assistant ... makes the tragedy all the more real when you know someone personally effected. So glad that you're ok too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I has been a rough week. We discovered the details of the fire, then yesterday the mine owners decided to close it and we are out of work again. As we were casual we get no redundancy or anything and she has just bought a house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I has been a rough week. We discovered the details of the fire, then yesterday the mine owners decided to close it and we are out of work again. As we were casual we get no redundancy or anything and she has just bought a house. Oh bugger! That is so what you don't need before Christmas. A terrible week all round up there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quokka2005 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 The whole thought of it totally freaks me out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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