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Photos: Family’s fortress no match for furious Australian fires

Justin Kam and his wife, Helena Wong, had built their home in the New South Wales town of Balmoral with steel framing and reinforced glass and retaining walls made of rock, all to protect them from Australia’s notorious wildfires. Their defenses turned out to be no match for blazes that have killed at least 25 people and hundreds of millions of animals and birds. The fires are expected to flare up later this week when temperatures rise.

Updated on: Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM IST

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1/11

Justin Kam (R), and Helena Wong survey their destroyed home at Balmoral, Australia, with a message to themselves written in chalk on the wall promising “We'll be back”. With flames climbing as high as a 15-storey building and menacing his supposedly fireproof home on three sides, Justin Kam ran to the laundry room and opened the door. Inside was fire.That’s not supposed to happen, he thought. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Justin Kam (R), and Helena Wong survey their destroyed home at Balmoral, Australia, with a message to themselves written in chalk on the wall promising “We'll be back”. With flames climbing as high as a 15-storey building and menacing his supposedly fireproof home on three sides, Justin Kam ran to the laundry room and opened the door. Inside was fire.That’s not supposed to happen, he thought. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

2/11

Fire approaches Helen Wong and Justin Lam’s home on December 21, 2019. It was clear that the family’s fortress had been breached and they were in mortal danger and needed to get out. “Once the fire had penetrated the structure, that was the signal: Time to get out. You can’t save it,” Lam said to AP. “Staying in any longer and we really would’ve been a statistic.” (Helena Wong via AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Fire approaches Helen Wong and Justin Lam’s home on December 21, 2019. It was clear that the family’s fortress had been breached and they were in mortal danger and needed to get out. “Once the fire had penetrated the structure, that was the signal: Time to get out. You can’t save it,” Lam said to AP. “Staying in any longer and we really would’ve been a statistic.” (Helena Wong via AP)

3/11

The family’s home gutted home in Balmoral. They escaped —just barely—but found themselves among 2,000 homeowners whose houses have burned down during what has been a catastrophic fire season Down Under, full of apocalyptic images that have focused the world’s attention on climate change. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

The family’s home gutted home in Balmoral. They escaped —just barely—but found themselves among 2,000 homeowners whose houses have burned down during what has been a catastrophic fire season Down Under, full of apocalyptic images that have focused the world’s attention on climate change. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

4/11

Kam and his wife had built their home with steel framing, reinforced glass so thick you would need a sledgehammer to break it and retaining walls made of rock, all to protect them from Australia’s notorious wildfires. Their defences turned out to be no match for a fire so hot it evaporated their outdoor furniture, leaving behind ghostly imprints reminiscent of those after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Kam and his wife had built their home with steel framing, reinforced glass so thick you would need a sledgehammer to break it and retaining walls made of rock, all to protect them from Australia’s notorious wildfires. Their defences turned out to be no match for a fire so hot it evaporated their outdoor furniture, leaving behind ghostly imprints reminiscent of those after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

5/11

Justin and Helena had moved to their sleepy village of 400 people 20 years ago and thought they had found their slice of paradise. Their house overlooks a valley filled with eucalyptus trees. Kangaroos hop along their veranda, and a wombat dug a burrow under their deck. Helena began breeding rare chickens. They knew the fires would come, and had successfully fought two before. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Justin and Helena had moved to their sleepy village of 400 people 20 years ago and thought they had found their slice of paradise. Their house overlooks a valley filled with eucalyptus trees. Kangaroos hop along their veranda, and a wombat dug a burrow under their deck. Helena began breeding rare chickens. They knew the fires would come, and had successfully fought two before. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

6/11

Justin Kam holds a sushi knife fused to a wine bottle and plate. On December 21, the family was ready. They had filled buckets, emptied gas cylinders, put on their smoke masks and left two vehicles running in the driveway. But this fire was unprecedented. A wall of flame came up the valley. A fireball rose 60 metres into the sky. The flames were so hot they were swirling, moving with the wind but also against it. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Justin Kam holds a sushi knife fused to a wine bottle and plate. On December 21, the family was ready. They had filled buckets, emptied gas cylinders, put on their smoke masks and left two vehicles running in the driveway. But this fire was unprecedented. A wall of flame came up the valley. A fireball rose 60 metres into the sky. The flames were so hot they were swirling, moving with the wind but also against it. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

7/11

As the family members ran, Wong’s shoes melted and embers landed on her shoulders. She believes they made it out by no more than 30 seconds. The back of their car melted, so they jumped into their truck and drove out. After what might have been five minutes or 10, the fire front moved on and they drove to the fire station, where others were taking shelter. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

As the family members ran, Wong’s shoes melted and embers landed on her shoulders. She believes they made it out by no more than 30 seconds. The back of their car melted, so they jumped into their truck and drove out. After what might have been five minutes or 10, the fire front moved on and they drove to the fire station, where others were taking shelter. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

8/11

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tours the a devastated Wildflower farm in Sarsfield on January 3. The wildfires have proven to be not just a crisis for the country, but a crisis for the Prime Minister—one so grave that some have questioned whether his leadership can survive it. On Tuesday, Brendon O’Connor, the Balmoral volunteer fire captain told AP that while the fire had moved on, it burned down about 25 homes. (James Ross / Pool via AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tours the a devastated Wildflower farm in Sarsfield on January 3. The wildfires have proven to be not just a crisis for the country, but a crisis for the Prime Minister—one so grave that some have questioned whether his leadership can survive it. On Tuesday, Brendon O’Connor, the Balmoral volunteer fire captain told AP that while the fire had moved on, it burned down about 25 homes. (James Ross / Pool via AP)

9/11

Helena Wong points to a plant regenerating as she survey their destroyed home. When Justin and Helena returned to their burned-out home, they found a piece of pink chalk and used it to write on their wall, “We’ll be back!” (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Helena Wong points to a plant regenerating as she survey their destroyed home. When Justin and Helena returned to their burned-out home, they found a piece of pink chalk and used it to write on their wall, “We’ll be back!” (Rick Rycroft / AP)

10/11

Justin Kam surveys his home. A long struggle lies ahead. The family is finding it difficult to navigate through all the red tape, and they didn’t have insurance on their house. Justin, a woodworker who built all the family’s furniture, said that was because they had other financial priorities, such as school fees and looking after aging relatives. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Justin Kam surveys his home. A long struggle lies ahead. The family is finding it difficult to navigate through all the red tape, and they didn’t have insurance on their house. Justin, a woodworker who built all the family’s furniture, said that was because they had other financial priorities, such as school fees and looking after aging relatives. (Rick Rycroft / AP)

11/11

Objects found in the rubble of the home are laid out after the fire. “We had our plan in place, but still, it spanked us like little naughty children,” Justin said. “That’s Mother Nature for you.” (Rick Rycroft / AP)

Updated on Jan 09, 2020 4:01 PM

Objects found in the rubble of the home are laid out after the fire. “We had our plan in place, but still, it spanked us like little naughty children,” Justin said. “That’s Mother Nature for you.” (Rick Rycroft / AP)

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