The road from Braidwood to Batemans Bay is blocked, Jan. 8, 2020. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
Regardless of the shadows cast by Australia's bushfire, the residents in Braidwood are still trying to lead a normal life.
They are waiting for the rain which would put an end to the nightmare.
CANBERRA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- If without the bushfires, Braidwood in the southeast of Australia would have been busy now, greeting tourists going to the beach of Batemans Bay.
But the bushfires on New Year's Eve that had burned down houses and stranded holidaymakers in the tourism destination 45 km away not only took a toll on local economy, but also cast a shadow over people's life there.
"Every single person in the town has been affected in some way, economically, mentally or physically," said Brooke O'Connell.
The young woman is a volunteer firefighter who just returned to the town on Wednesday.
"My grandparents are volunteers, my dad is as well," she said. "So I have been helping out as I can."
The firefighter clothes hang at Fire and Rescue New South Wales Braidwood Fire Station in Braidwood, Jan. 8, 2020. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
She told Xinhua that the bushfires close to Braidwood had been going on since Nov. 29. "So I have been to Nerriga, Monga, etc."
Although O'Connell described the fire that she worked on as being "good at the moment," the road is still closed between Braidwood and Batemans Bay. An unnamed traffic control person noted a fire is still burning more than 10 km away.
"Are we afraid? Yes and no," she said. "We are a strong community and we will get it done."
The family of Peter James, a young farmer with two kids, still took precautions against the bushfires. "We are used to the variability of the unknown," said he.
They have a farm with 190 heads of cattle, but now the kids have left the farm and moved to a rental place in Braidwood with James' sister and wife. "We wait for it to rain and come back home," he said.
Photo taken on Dec. 20, 2019 shows fire trucks working at Lexton bush fire site in western Victoria, Australia. (Wayne Riggs/CFA/Handout via Xinhua)
"My wife worries about health and safety of the kids," he said. "She is German and she is not used to it (bushfire)."
As James is looking after the cattle, he got suitcases ready, so that he could leave quickly in case of emergency.
Barbara Hayes, in her 60s, also left her home to live with a friend.
She ran a gift shop called the Country Workbox. Visitors could be calmed down by the peaceful music, but Hayes would cough from time to time due to the smoke. "It is better to stay indoor. If you want to get out, you really need a mask," she said.
"Luckily these days we have a bit of calm weather. It's not as smokey as it has been, but it doesn't mean bushfires have already gone away," she told Xinhua. "We are getting it now, coming up from the south, steadily going through our national forest. It's really, really very sad that they can't stop it."
"It is frightening. It has gone through areas and burn down houses," she said. "A lot of properties have been burned down. But we don't know how long will it be before it comes close to Braidwood."
Photo taken on Jan. 8, 2020 shows fire engines at Fire and Rescue New South Wales Braidwood Fire Station in Braidwood. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
If it's getting worse, Hayes would go to Canberra, which is only an hour's drive away.
But for now, she believed that the most obvious impact was on businesses. "This town does on weekends rely a lot on business going through to the coast. People in Canberra go to Batemans Bay, and they go there every weekend. A lot of them stop and have something to eat here," she said.
Hayes believed the restaurants and cafes are suffering. The business of Lenoa Coleman's cafe lately dropped about 30 percent from last year.
"This is actually our busiest time, but nobody is coming to Braidwood," said the 32-year-old shop owner. In her cafe only a handful of local residents buy a cup of coffee or an ice-cream.
However, with a 2-year-old son and expecting another baby in April, the mother believed the risk for Braidwood town is over but the rural areas are still at risk.
That was what 93-year-old Paul Dann worried. He was in the cafe, talking with a friend about the fire. Dann has a house in the woods, which he built in 1993.
The national flag flies at half-mast in the town center of Braidwood, Jan. 8, 2020. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)
"I have taken the most valuable, like the articles I have written and the photos to Canberra," he said. "So when the house is burned down, I don't think I will be terribly sad."
When Xinhua reporters stepped out of the cafe, Braidwood appeared as tranquil as any ordinary small Australian town. The national flag at the town center that flew at half-mast reminded people of the losses of bushfires.
The death toll from the unfolding bushfires in Australia, which began early in September, has risen to 27 as the fires continue to burn.
As of Wednesday, more than 10.7 million hectares of land had been burned across the country. On Thursday morning, the state government of New South Wales (NSW) announced that 1,870 homes have been destroyed in the state.
"There has been many warnings," said O'Connell, closing doors of the food van that she ran. "But people are still trying to go on with their daily life and make it as normal as possible." ■
