Glassblowing artist James McMurtrie's life's work and a new gallery in Pomonal came within meters of the devastating fires that tore through his hometown in February. / (min cost $ 0 ) or signup to continue reading The combination of growing up on a farm amongst nature and the creative influence of his artistic mother instilled in him the early love of artistic interpretation on which he had built his career. is nestled in the shadow of the Grampians in Western Victoria.
On a day of forecast extreme conditions, the unimaginable happened. A suspected lightning strike started two fires that burned over the top of the mountain and headed toward Pomonal. The fires destroyed 46 homes and additional buildings, fences, feed, animals, and almost everything in their path.
Mr McMurtrie's plans to finish preparing his new gallery for a grand opening quickly became a fight for survival for his family home and business. His decision to stay and protect his property was mainly due to the generator-powered sprinkler system, which drew water from his own water supply. He saturated the buildings and surroundings and spent the next hours doing what he could to save his property.
"It was a difficult few hours during the worst of it and the days that followed," he said. Similar sprinkler systems helped save some of the small town's properties from embers, providing valuable time for the CFA to concentrate on controlling the fire. His good fortune was not lost on the fact that so many of his neig.
