A falling star heralded the arrival of a ferocious Werrikimbe fire for Forbes River graziers Brett and Gemma Porter. The explosion that followed changed their lives forever.
"What I used to think would burn and what I think today are different things," said Mr Porter, whose family-run sawmill was destroyed, placing five men out of work in a valley with no other employment.
Mrs Porter said the fire was fought using a plan developed during 50 years of experience on this rolling property, but the blaze delivered so many stunning new acts - like the gust of cyclonic wind, dark and acrid, that lifted her bodily off the ground to swing her downhill for 70 metres.
"It felt like floating on a chair," she recalled.
Crowning spot fires were ignited by blue balls of gas, thrown out of the neighbouring national park, much of it world heritage wet schlerophyl, with dense gullies thick with rainforest.
Heat melted aluminium at the mill and reduced slings of hardwood to white ash.
In the paddock cow pats burst into flame, incinerated to nothing, while adjacent grass remained intact.
A mob of 250 head of cattle followed instinct and tucked themselves into a green gully behind a dam while the fire roared overhead, burning a bridge beside them.
Most distressing, a remarkable network of 40 cell grazing paddocks, divided by electric wire, have been destroyed and the carefully managed feed that remained, in spite of drought, now burnt to bare soil.
"We toyed with not insuring the sawmill for fire because after our agent pointed out we had so much clear space around it," said Mr Porter. "We slept on that for a week before deciding to renew".
There is anger at the lack of fuel reduction management in all Crown lands, and the red tape surrounding land holders' ability to do anything about that.
"We don't practice traditional land management anymore," said Mrs Porter.
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