年時代十佳新聞照片(3) 澳大利亞叢林火災

3. Tim Holmes. Dunalley, Australia. Jan. 4, 2013.

2013年1月4日，澳大利亞南塔斯馬尼亞沿海小鎮達納利，攝影：蒂姆·霍姆斯

On the January 4, 2013, a bush fire swept through our small coastal township of Dunalley in Southern Tasmania. My wife and I and our five grandchildren took refuge in the sea bordering our property as massive columns of fire consumed everything in their path.

2013年1月4日，一場野火席捲了南塔斯馬尼亞我家所在的沿海小鎮達納利。當時大火所到之處，一片廢墟。我妻子和五個孫兒只能在淺海邊處避難。

The grand children had lived next door to us in a beautiful, sun-filled timber farmhouse. It had a picket-fenced garden strewn with children’s toys, sandpits and colorful flowers. There was a pathway that ran through the trees to an old wooden boatshed and jetty where the children would often play.

我的孫兒們原來住在我家旁邊一所美麗、陽光的木屋。尖木樁做籬笆的花園裏到處都是他們的玩具、沙坑和鮮花。一條小路穿過樹林通向一所古老的木頭船和防波堤，他們常在那兒玩耍嬉戲。

On that day the jetty became our shelter, the water was cold and the fire was intensely hot on our faces but the biggest problem was the lack of air to breathe. We found a shallow area of breathable air between the toxic smoke and the water.

那天防波堤成爲我們的避難地，海水刺骨冰涼，大火卻灼燒着我們的臉龐，但是最大的問題是缺氧。我們在嗆人的煙霧和水之間爭取着一小塊可供呼吸的空氣。

The fire burned right down to the water’s edge and the jetty itself caught on fire, but we were able to put it out. We spent two and half hours under the jetty and I took the photograph with my wife’s iPhone to send by text message to our daughter so that she could see that we were all together. Our lives were spared but houses and all possessions were lost.

大火直接燒到了水面，防波堤也着了火，但是我們設法把火撲滅。在防波堤下我們待了兩個半小時，我用妻子的蘋果手機拍了照發給女兒，讓她看到我們都在一起。我們得救了，但是房子等財產都失去了。