Fresno State Athletics
Australia Fires Affect Family Members of Munro
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - When the Fresno State women's basketball team was on a road trip at Nevada and San Jose State, sophomore forward Hayley Munro received a phone call from a close friend in Indiana saying her hometown of Victoria, Australia was a blaze. Right after her friend called, her mother left a message on her phone telling her of the situation.
Since the Bulldogs were in the middle of traveling to San Jose, Munro had no way of getting in contact with her family to make sure they were safe.
"I didn't have any direct access with my family since I usually call through the internet," Munro said. "It was quite an anxious wait to get in contact with them to hear that they were ok. My initial thoughts were that I was worried for the safety of my family and hoped everyone was ok."
Since the initial news of the fires in Victoria, more than 1,800 homes have been destroyed and about 7,000 people have been displaced. According to CNN.com 181 people have died.
Unfortunately, Munro did have family affected by the fires as her aunt and uncle and their family lived in a community that was severely damaged. Luckily, their home was one of the few fortunate ones whose house was still standing.
 The photo shows the damage the fires caused in the area of Hayley Munro's aunt and uncles house.  | |
"The fires came about 20-meters from their house and actually burnt down their garage that had my uncles vintage care in it," Munro said. "They were very lucky that the fires didn't take their house."
Munro's parents were not affected as they live 20 minutes away from the closest fires. Her relatives that were affected by the fires live an hour from her parents house in the country. When the fires first started, Munro's relatives grabbed all her cousins and a bag of clothes and took a three-hour detour around the fires to get to Munro's parents house. It was there they stayed until they received word that it was safe to go back.
"When they returned they had no electricity due to the fires but the ARMY services were up there to help and were able to connect some electricity from the neighboring town," Munro said.
Munro said all her family and friends are safe from the fires but she did have friends who lost loved ones.
The Bulldog sophomore said she feels extremely grateful that her family is ok especially on the day the fires started it was the hottest day recorded in history of Melbourne at 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
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"With weeks of dry weather beforehand this was a deadly combination once the fires got going," Munro said. "Three days following the fires in the community where my relatives live, a place called Flowerdale, around 30 percent of the population was still unaccounted for."
Another devastating effect of the fires was on the native wildlife.
"There were many koalas, kangaroos, possums and wombats that were killed," Munro said. "Many were also found burnt and people in the community were saving them and taking them to wildlife sanctuaries to try and keep them alive."
 The wildlife has been affected by the fires. | |
Despite all the trials from the wildfires, people have been generous in providing relief to the people affected. Once her relatives returned to their home they placed a sign out in front saying "Phone, shower, washing machine for those without." When the sign went up a newspaper in Melbourne took a picture of it did a full-page story on the generosity of people in the community.
"People are donating huge amounts of money, clothing, bedding and anything to help the affected people get back on their feet," Munro said. "I know that my relatives are very thankful for all the support that has been given."
To view more information on the fires log onto, http://www.theage.com.au/national/bushfires.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs return to the Save Mart Center on Friday, February 27 as they host Nevada in the Save Mart Center at 7:00 pm. It's Pink Zone Night and $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the Central Valley Affiliate for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Tickets are on sale now through the Save Mart Center box office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
