Defiance saved their lives

By Melissa Meehan
“TRAPPED with no escape.”
Kinglake’s Melanie Powell still comprehends the moment that, in reality, saved her life.
“They told us all of the roads out of the town were closed and we had no way of getting out,” she told the Mail.
“They wanted everybody to go to the pub, but we didn’t listen.
“I guess that’s what saved us.”
A relaxed afternoon at the Whittlesea Music Festival soon turned into a night of chaos surrounded by embers and smoke.
“We were at the Music Festival and saw the fires in Wallan and as the smoke got worse decided to head up the mountain to Kinglake,” Melanie said.
“As we were driving up there something didn’t seem right, it was smoky – but there were flashes of red in between.”
Melanie decided it was time to pack.
“That’s when the roar of the fire started,” she said.
“We got into the car and tried to get out.”
She then faced some of the most distressing moments of her life.
“We went to three different ways out of the town, and we were told at all three exits that there was no escape,” she said. “We were essentially trapped.”
With no way out and chaotic scenes surrounding her, Melanie asked an emergency services worker what to do.
“He told me to go to the pub, he said they wanted everyone in the same place,” she said.
“People died because they did what they were told to do.
“They thought they had no choice.”
Lucky to have a powerful four-wheel-drive, Melanie and her partner decided to try their luck again.
“After running into fires at Yarra Glen, and being turned back at a couple of exits, we tried Whittlesea – Yea Road again.”
This time they were able to make it through, though not without challenges.
“We thought we had a clear run … then we got to a tree over the road,” she said.
Able to get around the tree, Melanie then took refuge in Yea.
“I have never been so scared,” she said.
“It’s just so hard to think that so many people died thinking they had no other options.”
Melanie lost her home and office.
However, she says she plans to move back into Kinglake once it is rebuilt.
“We were only renting, but we lost everything,” she said.
“Kinglake is our home, I love the place and the people.”