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Nicholas helping with the clean up.
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While we were hoping for a weather change during one of our longest,
hottest summers, it seems the weather gods took the memo a little too
literally, sending us the most intense storm we’ve ever encountered in
the Valley.
The morning of the 16th of
January was hot and still, and we were busily watering aviaries and topping
up water tubs in readiness for another scorcher. Come mid-morning,
however, a cloud front to the north was noted, and an unusual north east
wind picked up. A quick message to our weather guru volunteer Ryan confirmed
that a worrying storm front was building north of Perth, and making its
way towards the Sanctuary.
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| Over 40C before 10 am. |
Reports of lightening starting fires were
noted on social media, and soon the Valley began to get dark. Chris was
at home solo, so began running the sprinklers in readiness for dry
lightning, followed by dropping animal marquees which could be damaged
in wind.
Time for storm preparations was limited, however, as in a
blink, the wind, thunder and sideways rain arrived.
Lightening forks
could be seen hitting the ground, but the noise of the thunder was
drowned out by the gale forced winds. Tree canopy began to fall and it
was difficult to see where the animals were for debris and hail.
The
storm was brutal but short lived, and within ten minutes the rain
stopped.
We dashed down to the lamb house, the area which seemed the
worst hit. Luckily the babies were shaken but safe, and Nougat the goat
was already enjoying the leafy snacks the heavens had provided.
Running
up to the top paddocks, we noticed the damage was much worse than we
first thought.
Nicholas ram had lost his shelter, and he could hardly
move for tree material, but thankfully, he was ok.
Digby’s flock had
lost an entire shelter. Their patio area was damaged, and fences
everywhere were broken or weighed down by branches – but the flock were all alive and well. We still don’t know how, but all the animals had
managed to get through the tree fall uninjured.
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Nicholas surveying the damage.
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Within an hour of the
storm, some of our incredible volunteer crew were onsite helping triage the
cleanup to ensure the animals were comfortable overnight. It was hot and humid,
and the sound of chainsaws filled the air as we began clearing the
roadways and checking water troughs were intact and full.
Two busy bees
and many weekends later, the clean up is almost complete, but the
skyline at the Valley will never be the same following the massive storm
that day.
Thank you to the incredible team who helped clean, chainsaw
and repair fences, and all our supporters who donated to assist with shelter
rebuilds. This was such an incredible response from the PVAS community following
a very worrying event.
