Canberra Bushfires - Mount Taylor (filmed by vk1kcm)

The January 18 2003 Canberra bushfires, sweeping across Mount Taylor and surrounds.

The darkest time was between approx. 3:30 and 4:30 PM!

Filmed from Kambah ACT, by youtube member vk1kcm.

Thanks to Chris for the video :)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• disaster
• canberra
• bushfire
• mount
• taylor
• act
• january
• 18
• vk1kcm

[vk1kcm]

I'm the one who shot this video. It was shot from where I live in Kambah, near Village Creek Primary School. That's the voices of me and my kids you hear at the start.

The radio traffic you hear later on in the video was the NSW RFS local area comms channel from a handheld scanner.

I'm a little surprised to see it here but that's ok. I originally posted it to 2600 and AARnet's mirror site.

[roo465]

Sent you a message mate ;)

[Muzooly]

This brings tears to my eyes. I wasn't there but my brother lost his house and it was just devastating... it must have been really scarey.

[roo465]

If I have upset anyone, my apologies. My intention was not to upset people, but to show the people who haven't seen it.

[roo465]

Thanks for the replies :) The video was filmed from Kambah, although I'm located on the Pearce side of the Mountain.

[sKiiTs8]

@roo465 I'm in Pearce, as well. I was 5, just 2 days after my birthday, was really sad watching it all burn

[unclech0pper]

A friend and I went up Mt Taylor during the fires to take photos. I think it was around 2-3 in the afternoon. We were leaving, and as we got to the car we looked up the hill to watch fire sweep right through where we were standing only moments earlier. Got back home in Wanniassa shortly after and it was pitch black in the middle of the afternoon except for the red glow on the horizon.

[supertysman]

i remeber this, i was in issabella plains at the time. i remeber looking at that mountain, looked just like that

[JulieFaithMikael]

Thanks for posting. I was a fire fighter sent to Canberra from NSW.

[mbaustinful]

it seems like hell

sinister

[xamyxisxsnazzyx]

thanks to vk1kcm for the footage, roo465 for reposting. this day was sooo scary. I was 11 years old when this happened, and I remember the whole 'dark sky at 4pm' put me so out of whack. I was walking around the house munching on a box of dry nutri-grain to calm my nerves. we are in conder (right across the road from conder ridge) and we could see the fires coming over from tidbinbilla, and the massive fireball go through Gordon. One thing I am still scared of - the freaking sirens on the radio!

[scottclements78]

I was in Torrens when you were filming this. Saw a car roll onto an old man on Beasley street and it was raining red embers and no one knew what was happening. A group of Irish backpackers walked past amazed and asked if this was a normal everyday bushfire? Never forget that day.

[WHOAitsWhatsHerFace]

I was 6 when this happened, and I lived in Wanniassa, and my Grandma lived in Kambah, but thankfully we were ok. Unfortunately, some people weren't so lucky. The only thing I was upset about was that Mount Taylor was on fire, because my name is Taylor. I'm sure noone that was in Canberra at that time will ever forget this fire.

[nessii1a1]

i lived right at the bottom of mnt taylor..it was so scarey me and my BF where at his house during the fires out near isabella plais when i foud out where it was i was scared for my mum and so they drove up to my BF's house...it was teh scariest time of my life...and yea donate pplzzz

[Venom0ZA]

We were staying in Duffy in Glenmaggie street next to petrol station there.

Wife and I were having a snooze when her Aunt called to warn us, looked outside and it was black!

The fireballs were starting to come down the hill behind us. I decided then and there we are going, wife grabbed her wedding dress and we got out as fireball hit houses over the road. No hope in hell for them that day!

My first month in Australia. I blame the Pine Plantation being so close to the city.