Grim journey through ashes

By Jade Lawton
AS THE white four-wheel-drive drove through the main street of Marysville last Monday, its occupants fell silent.
The town, just weeks ago a pretty tourist destination, was reduced to a thick mess of ash and scorched metal.
The policeman, vet and licensed shooter reflected on the grim task ahead, shooting all the fatally wounded livestock, pets and wildlife they could find.
Healesville resident Alan Wood, armed with a shotgun and a video camera, recorded the sight.
“It was eerie, spooky,” he said.
“As soon as we got to Narbethong, there was this horrible, smoky smell. There were huge trees that were just uprooted and flattened.
“At one place, there was the little forest of white bark manna gums that were just smashed in half. It looked like a bulldozer had been through there, but it was the force of the wind.”
Mr Wood and his entourage drove up to Buxton, where they checked on a friend’s property. As they neared the blackened front gate, they feared the worst.
“I was filming not knowing what we would see around the corner. The house was gone, the fences and shed were gone, and we were sure the horses would be dead.”
Amazingly, they found nine horses, all with singed coats and nostrils, waiting patiently by the dam. They went to the Buxton store to find hay for the horses to keep them on the property, and soon found a family, who had lost their home, who gave Mr Wood as much hay as he could take.
While they saw many animals dead by the side of the road, the worst was the beloved family pets, burnt beyond saving.
“We came across one lady holding a horse. Her house was burnt down, and her family was dead inside. The horse had to be destroyed, but how do you tell someone who has lost everything that they are about to lose the one living thing they have left?
“But we had to go back and shoot it.”