Few Blue Mountains residents will ever forget the catastrophic bushfires that swept through the region in 2013.
Some 207 homes were lost to the fires in Winmalee, Yellow Rock and the Upper Mountains. These devastated communities have shown remarkable resilience during the recovery.
Residents who were directly affected by these fires have extraordinary stories to tell of the day of the fire and the recovery of the community afterwards. These stories are the subject of a new documentary which will screen on August 25 at the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub in Springwood.
This is the second time that filmmaker Laura Zusters has worked with the Blue Mountains community to tell the story of bushfires in the area. Her earlier film, Fire Stories - A Lesson in Time told the story of the catastrophic fires that swept through Leura and Wentworth Falls in 1957.
After appealing to the community for material to use in the film, Ms Zusters uncovered extraordinary local, personal footage that had never been seen before.
With her latest documentary focusing on the recovery effort after the 2013 Linksview fire, Ms Zusters is once again inviting residents to contribute material for her film.
“People I spoke to told me so many wonderful stories about how the community recovered, including street get togethers and community BBQs and I would love to be able to illustrate those with photos and videos from the time.”
If you have relevant material which you would be willing to share for use in this documentary please email firestories2@bmwhi.org.au by Monday June 25.
