PN. THIS IS PLAYFORD
A FAMILY FARM Hanne and her husband, Adam, are focused on their future and staying bushfire ready.
Hanne’s bushfire recovery. This is Hanne, Council’s Injury Management and Wellbeing Co-ordinator. Hanne and her family suffered significant loss in the Sampson Flat fires. Retelling the story five years on is still difficult, but she wants to share how important it is to stay vigilant about fire preparation – which is an ‘all year round’ undertaking. The fires blazed over two weeks in the heat of early January 2015. Hanne’s family lost all of their belongings which were packed into boxes from their recent relocation to Kersbrook when the shed went up. Thankfully the old fibro house slated for demolition to make way for their new home was relatively unscathed. The community immediately rallied and volunteers kept the world turning for Hanne, her family, and for everyone affected by the fire. The local footy club ran barbecues for every meal and gathered donations of basic necessities, pet food and more flooded in. “Everyone pulled together and supported each other… we would have been completely lost without them,” Hanne said. Dedicated friends came every weekend for two years to help re-build fences and continue to clear the property of fallen wood and debris. According to Hanne, “the sound of chainsaws rang out through Kersbrook for months,” as property owners felled burned trees and chopped them up. Looking at the idyllic green property now, it’s hard to imagine the devastation the fire left behind it. Hanne and her family have just finished building their new home,
PAGE 14 | playford.sa.gov.au
