00:00Like many Canberrans who lived through the 2003 firestorm, Jane Hedges' memories of January
00:08the 18th are apocalyptic.
00:11The fire just roared up that hill there, just roared up, it was so loud, there was smoke,
00:16it was dark.
00:17Residents had earlier helped horse owners move a herd of 30 to this adjustment yard
00:22at the base of Mount Arawang, just two kilometres away but considered safer.
00:27Everyone went except for my husband and I, we stayed and one other woman.
00:32We wet our towels, put them on our head, wet our clothes and just rushed round with buckets
00:37putting out the grass fire as it came into the yards around the horses.
00:42Amid the chaos, she remembers the horses were totally calm and all survived uninjured.
00:49They put their backsides to the fire front, the wind, their heads right down, no horse
00:56moved a muscle.
00:57Some basic do's and don'ts helped.
01:00We then took off anything they were wearing like for example halters or fly veils or rugs
01:07because if the fire got to them they're all full of plastic and it would have melted.
01:12It's the sort of information others in Canberra's equestrian community have been receiving from
01:17the Rural Fire Service.
01:19Get yourself a metal bin and put the essentials you might need in it for the first 24 hours.
01:25ACT RFS Chief Rowan Scott says while the community has experience and expertise, and
01:31much of the advice seems common sense, emergency situations can be disorientating.
01:37A fire can be very noisy, it'll be smoky, there'll be a lot of wind, it'll be hot.
01:43All your sensory elements are challenged.
01:47With a dog you can just put it in the car and off you go, whereas with horses they have
01:51the same emotional connection.
01:53There's a lot more that takes place and there's a lot more thought involved.
01:56That includes training your horse ahead of time to go into a float or fire safe paddock,
02:02having three to five days supply of feed and water on hand and microchipping.
02:06The latest seasonal bushfire outlook predicted a normal risk for the ACT but warned that
02:12could change if there's below average rainfall and Canberra fire crews have already responded
02:17to two grass fires in as many weeks.
02:21At the moment it's lovely and green but if this over 30 degree weather stays it'll turn
02:26brown and become a total fire hazard.
02:29The bushfire season runs until March 31st.
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