Posted: 8/2/20
RAIN, RAIN, and MORE RAIN!
It’s a great relief after so much drought to finally get the rain…
But it comes with severe weather warnings, of course!
The good news is that the Morton fire (as many others across NSW) is now at ‘Under Control’ status.
At Santi, we have now returned and are beginning our clean-up, and will re-open to the public on Saturday 15th February.
We can now draw this lengthy ‘fire’ chapter (and post) to a close. Thank you all for staying tuned and interested. We hope to get back to some semblance of normality here… however, we all know that our common perception of ‘normality’ has been changed forever!
If you are staying tuned to the science on climate change and the effects and predictions playing out world-wide, you’ll know what that means. Some say we are already beyond the tipping point… (the effects of certain causes already set in motion will be inevitable).
What can we do…?
As always, strive to act with integrity.
May the blessings and wisdom of the Buddha-dhamma continue to guide your life and enter more deeply into your heart 🙏
See you at Santi sometime!
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Posted: 4/2/20
Here is some aerial video footage of the bushfire affected areas around the Southern Highlands and Morton National Park:
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Posted: 3/2/20
I had the opportunity to visit Santi yesterday, ahead of a possible return next weekend. Fortunately I did, as there are quite a few issues to address…
We had no mains water; no phone; a burnt/melted sewerage outlet pipe; and an electrical outage in one area of the house. I hadn’t counted on meeting these issues… I mostly wanted to look around the property, see the extent of the burnt areas, and assess what was needed to start cleaning up. It was searingly hot at 42 degrees (it was only meant to get to 36!) which made walking around pretty hard to accomplish. I had a wet flannel on my head the whole time and my feet in cold water on and off… but still felt extremely enervated.
Needless to say, we are very heartened and thankful that the buildings are all in tact, and most grateful to the firies for protecting the monastery so well. It is still sad however, to see the large burnt out areas of forest in different parts of the property, and beyond; and reflecting on the larger catastrophe of such widespread loss of habitat and wildlife all across NSW and VIC.
Around the main house is still looking okay – the main burnt areas start a bit beyond there: down towards the lookout; around the lower two yurts and over towards the national park; and all the way through the forest on the big cave side of the property. There were no familiar birds or wildlife to be seen yet… But hopefully they will return once we are back and the forest regenerates a bit.
The atmosphere was still hazy with smoke, and the strong smell of ash will likely linger for some time. I saw some burnt trees still smouldering near the yurts, and from the lookout could see pluming smoke from the fire still burning in the valley a few kilometres away. But hopefully, if the weather prediction is accurate, the large amount of rain expected later this week should not only help clear the atmosphere and dampen the smouldering, but may even put out the fires and fill some water holes for the thirsty creatures!
Given the major services mentioned above are not working at the monastery at the moment, we may need a bit more time to get things functional before opening to the public again. So at this stage the previously mentioned date of 15th February is tentative, until further advice.
Also, the cave road will need to remain off-limits to everyone until we can get some clearing work done along there as it’s not safe for people to walk down. We should be able to access some help for bushfire recovery to fell the dangerous burnt trees and clear the burnt debris on the property. It just might take some time to accomplish. However, relative to the major damage that so many are facing, our clean up is minuscule.
The good news is that last night, the RFS declared the Morton fire now ‘Contained’. It’s not yet ‘out’, but is confidently contained and should burn itself out inside its charred perimeters. I’ve said it before below (when we thought we were returning earlier), but once again, a massive thank you to all the firies and emergency services who have worked so hard, tirelessly and selflessly to protect all the community in these parts. An amazing feat of perseverance… and humanity, actually 🙏. If only our political leaders could be as brave.
Here are some photos taken yesterday from the cave side of the property.
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Posted: 1/2/20
Despite the high temps today, Bundanoon and surrounds were safe, as the Morton fire continued to burn within its mostly contained perimeter. Though another hot day is expected tomorrow, beyond that, there’s cooler weather and perhaps even some rain coming, which will be a most welcome reprieve!
Here are some RFS stats from this fire season to date, for NSW alone…
Below are some aerial photos showing the devastating impact of the fires on the Morton National Park – very sad to see…
Photos by Patrick Edwards (posted on ‘Lovely Bundanoon’ fb).
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Additional Post: 30/1/20
A beautiful Australia Day tribute to bushfire impacted communities, worth viewing…
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Posted: 30/1/20
Well, we have great news… Patrick has set eyes on all the kutis at Santi now, and they are all in tact (!) despite the fire coming right up close to them. Truly amazing!
The first report from the firies that a kuti (small cabin) had burned (which was thought to be Bridge kuti) has not been substantiated… (it may well turn out to be a compost loo, perhaps near the cave).
Here are some more pics he took from around the property yesterday.
In other great news, the RFS have declared the Green Wattle Creek fire fully ‘contained’! This large fire was/is burning just north of Bowral (a town near to Bundanoon). While ‘contained’ doesn’t mean completely out, it has been sufficiently controlled and contained on all sides to no longer pose a threat to property and residential areas, and should wind-down and burn itself out.
While the Morton fire is not yet fully contained, the RFS and various teams are working really hard to get it to that point. It is certainly already much safer for Bundanoon; it’s the area to the west which is still more active at this point, from Wingello to Tallong.
This extraordinary photo shows smoke from the bushfires turning the Australian sky into a re-creation of the Aboriginal flag (inset).
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Posted: 28/1/20
Unfortunately, large parts of the forest at Santi have been pretty burnt-out from the fire a few days ago, and it seems from early reports that we may have sustained some small damage here and there… But the good news is that the main house, the three yurts and most of the kutis are safe, despite the fire coming very close to some.
While some areas have burnt cooler, and in these cases, has helped reduce dangerous fuel build-up on the forest floor, it seems the fire must have been the hottest on the Big Cave side of the property where a lot of tress have fallen. Even after the community return to Santi, it may take a while before we can ensure this area will be safe for people to visit again.
Below is the latest update of the RFS fire map showing the extent of the burnt area around Santi, Coalmines Road, and deep into the National Park.
Of course, this is just a tiny portion of the whole area of Morton National Park heavily impacted by fire… Not to mention the rest of the state!
With more extreme weather coming, (a 3-4 day heatwave towards the end of this week, all across Eastern Australia), this will most likely see more fire activity springing up in this area, so it seems best to plan our return to Santi after that time. It’s looking hopeful that we can do so by the weekend of the 8th/9th of February.
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Posted: 1pm 26/1/20
I received a brief text message at 6pm last night:
“Waterbombing monastery area now…”
Ah…OK…?!?!? 😯
The maps weren’t updated yet, so it was hard to know what was actually happening… Did the back burning get out of control? Was the main fire still encroaching in some areas?
At this stage, that detail is still unknown… but I believe waterbombing aircraft usually accompany such large back burning ops as a way of managing the fire, so we presume they were used as a precaution to ensure certain parts of the monastery stayed safe, since back burning was happening on all sides of the property.
The RFS fire map updated a couple of hours later, showing the fuller extent of the back burning surrounding Santi and south of the town, as well as where the back burning along Coalmines Road met the main fire front moving north-east.
This map still lags real time. The RFS are continuing with further back burning in the area today, attempting to close the gaps in the Morton fire spread ahead of the hotter weather forecast for later in the week.
At this point it’s uncertain if any of the monastery’s bush kutis were impacted by fire… We won’t know any details until Patrick, our friend on the ground, can go in and see for himself. It’s pretty clear that the main house and area around there is safe, and hopefully, the three yurts also.
By the end of last night, the Bundanoon community received a very reassuring message via the local Fire and Rescue fb page…
With deep gratitude and thanks to all the fire-fighting teams for their amazing hard work and their continuous dedication to keeping the whole community safe.
This is dangerous and exhausting work, and its been going on for so long… our firefighters really are bodhisattvas (selfless beings working for the good of the whole), as Prah Mana (from Sunnataram) has often said recently.
Needless to say, I’ll keep you posted as we get more news.
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Posted: 25/1/20
If you are following the updates on the RFS fire map you may have been concerned today seeing the fire activity now shown in the monastery property. However, as far as I am aware, the burnt area around the monastery itself is indicative of the tactical back burning the RFS have been doing yesterday and last night. (In fact, the total area burned is not yet shown, as these maps are often lagging many hours, even up to a whole day.)
Since the wildfire spread came much closer to the monastery (and Bundanoon) on Thursday evening, the RFS started their back burns all along Coalmines Rd towards Penrose, in the monastery grounds as well as in the National park behind the monastery property. They want to try to close the gap between the two previous spreads of the Morton fire. This tactic will help keep the monastery and Bundanoon much safer, and hopefully help bring the Morton fire under control till it burns out.
Of course, adverse weather conditions can easily ignite new outbreaks or flare up any smouldering areas until we get some good rain in the area… which, unfortunately, doesn’t look very likely yet from the forecast for this coming week.
While the back burning keeps property and people safe, it is still a very sad scenario for the animals that may be harmed in the process of fighting fire with fire. We sincerely hope the animals around Santi and this area will be protected and find safe ground, that the back burning in these parts remains cool enough and in not-so-huge spreads, so that the creatures can find a safe refuge while the fire moves past.
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Posted 10:30am 24/1/20
Dear friends,
It’s now clear that, due to yesterday’s progression of the Morton fire, we need to postpone our return to Santi this weekend. The fire’s edge is as close to Santi as its ever been, (at Coal Creek, just below the monastery property) and I’ve been told by a neighbor on the ground that there have been rotating crews of RFS and Fire & Rescue at the monastery, so they plan to defend it (which is good news)!
While the conditions today and tomorrow aren’t too dangerous for the fire spread, it seems sensible to stay out of the way so the RFS can do their job. Also, with increased smoke from the planned back burning and probably more ash spreading, its not a good time to be there or attempt to clean up just yet!
I’ll continue to post updates here every couple of days to keep you all informed.
With metta, for all beings.
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Posted: 11pm 23/1/20
STOP PRESS!
Unfortunately, with today’s extreme heat and wind conditions, fires have spread rapidly again on the south coast this afternoon and evening — we are yet to know the full scale of damage there.
At Bundanoon, while not reaching emergency level, the Morton fire has spread much closer to Santi now (from the Teudts Rd fire near Sunnataram), so it’s looking like we’ll need to postpone our return until we can be sure it is safe to do so.
I’ll keep you posted as we hear more tomorrow.
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Posted: 22/1/20
Our local RFS reported yesterday that:
‘Favourable weather conditions has meant that crews have significantly reduced the likelihood of further impact from [the Morton] fire’…
However: ‘Further high temperatures and strong winds over the coming days will increase the risk of new fire activity as will thunderstorms forecast on Friday.’
After a milder week on the east coast of NSW and just seeing those little blue ‘advice level’ flags on the fire map… now, on Wednesday afternoon, the yellow and red flags are popping up again. Tomorrow is rated ‘Severe’ fire danger for a large portion of NSW, including our area. And we can see on the satellite map today that there are still a few hot spots by Bundanoon Creek, about 6-7kms south of Santi, on one edge of the Morton fire ground.
While there is still some risk remaining however (as might be the new status quo), we’ve gone ahead and made a plan to return to Santi next week and aim to re-open to the public on February 1st (provided there is no new fire danger developing nearby in the meantime).
The Santi community want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have shown interest and stayed tuned to the development of things here, who have prayed, chanted, sent metta-karuna, and offered support in various way … and not just for Santi, but for the wider Australian community affected by these bushfires and the related climate crises.
And I just want to say here too, what amazing work our fantastic, selfless, firefighters have done, all across Australia. The fire season is not over yet and there will be many more difficulties ahead, no doubt, but Australians (and perhaps many others internationally) have found a whole new level of deep respect and admiration for our predominantly volunteer fire service members.
Wow… where would we be without them!
May they, and you, be blessed with the power and protection of the Triple Gem – Wisdom, Truth, and Goodness – the human heart’s own unshakable strength when plumbed to its depth!
With a bow of deep gratitude to all.
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Posted: 20/1/20
Flash flooding and hail the size of golf balls in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, and massive dust storms rolling over central NSW… just another ordinary day in Australia these days!
Yesterday’s news was of rivers and streams dying and the kill-off of tens of thousands of fish due to masses of ash and debris washing into the waterways from the vast fire grounds. Climate change anyone?
This start to 2020 will surely see many eyes being opened anew, and hopefully, some change for the better at the level where it needs to be enacted.
On a lighter note, there was cause for some celebration in Bundanoon a few hours ago (2pm-ish), when real rain finally let loose there. Though it was less than an hour of rain, it was at least a heavy downpour, and will no doubt help to further dampen any hotspots still active in the area.
Although hotter temps are due this week in Bundanoon, and the RFS warned on Friday that “…the Morton fire is NOT out despite the current rain”… the situation now seems safe enough to plan our return to Santi and set things up again. Sensibly, the RFS are encouraging residents to continue to be vigilant, as flare ups in the right conditions can easily happen. And, we’re only about half way through this fire season yet.
We may be able to head back to Santi next weekend, however, we have to first keep an eye on what happens on Wednesday and Thursday this week, as the fire danger and temps will be high on those days. Stay posted for more definite news later in the week.
Here’s a link to an excellent ABC photo story on the Southern Highlands called … “After the Inferno”
It’s well worth a look and a read, as it also features Sunnataram Monastery.
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Posted: 17/1/20
We’re feeling very grateful for some most welcome rain across Eastern Australia in the last 2 days!
Bundanoon area hasn’t had a lot yet (maybe between 10-15mls), but its a start…
Misty and cooler temps all help to dampen the fires as well.
Here’s the local RFS update for the area as of 30 mins ago:
With metta-karuna to all beings 🙏
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Posted: 15/1/20
In Sydney, I saw some pockets of blue sky on Monday afternoon – it seems like a long time since we’ve seen it, with all the smoke haze in the atmosphere. Now Melbourne is copping the toxic smoke haze big time with the continuing out-of-control mega fires in southern NSW and eastern Victoria.
While dangerous fire activity in the area around Bundanoon and Santi has eased significantly, a few small outbreaks were ignited yesterday with the warmer temps, but easily contained it seems. Reports of trees still simmering in the area, burning from the inside out, still pose some risks too.
The pic below, taken last night (Tues) around 10pm from Coalmines Road, shows some active fire to the south of Bundanoon in the Morton National Park. There’s obviously still significant risk until a good amount of rain falls.
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We heard that the proposed back burning has been postponed; unsure why exactly – however it may be in expectation of some days of rain forecast from tomorrow (Thursday).
As the smoke haze begins to clear for more long-range visibility, some of the damage is now able to be seen. Someone posted a pic (below right) looking out east behind their street in Bundanoon, into the Morton National Park, showing some of the burnt out areas there.
Despite the sadness of the damage in so many areas, there are small acts of kindness being shown across communities everywhere, people supporting people and wildlife. It is truly heartening as people discover the small things they can do to help where they can, along with the many acts of generosity coming from near and far supporting the RFS and other charities bringing relief to fire victims, human and animal kind.
People want to help.
It’s been reported that in the last two months or so, since this fire season exploded, the RFS has received over 25,000 membership enquiries, compared to an average annual application of about 4,000!
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Posted: 13/1/20
While there are still some small pockets of fire around the Southern Highlands, the change in weather the last couple of days is a great blessing – being cooler and damp the fire activity has eased tremendously and the RFS have a chance to strengthen containment lines and do some tactical back burning. In Bundanoon they intend to back burn from Coalmines Road (where Santi is located) west towards Penrose.
The RFS also turned out at Santi Monastery yesterday (pics compliments of a neighbour) to prepare to do some back burning there. However, it was too damp apparently, so today or tomorrow will be the day.
Some good rain is actually forecast for the area from Thursday this week –
so here’s hoping/ praying/ visualising/ expecting/ knowing it will really manifest! 🙏
With metta-karuna for all beings ….
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Posted: 11/1/20
Santi and the town of Bundanoon had another lucky night last night and stayed relatively safe from the potential fire danger, despite being on high alert and receiving an emergency warning message late in the evening. The RFS were well prepared for another ember attack like last Saturday, but the southerly winds did not get as strong as expected.
We were up much of the night listening to live RFS radio scanner comms from Bundanoon area online. Unfortunately, one fire front came through Sunnataram Monastery’s property in the late afternoon and burnt some of the smaller buildings there, (including the women’s dorm and some kutis), but thankfully the firies saved the main buildings on the property (pics & article here). It also moved across other properties at the far end of Teudts Rd., (which is further down the road from Santi towards Penrose).
The fire was then progressing closer towards Coalmines Rd (where Santi is) and Bundanoon, but was slowed due to cooler temps, increased humidity and reduced winds, and so far no other reports of property damage in the area have emerged. There was a bit of rain there this morning and the RFS are continuing to manage the fires around the area.
Unfortunately, in other parts of fire ravaged NSW there were injuries reported for firefighters and a man defending his property (more pics & article here).
Thankfully, this week seems like it will be easier weather for fire management. Though we are not ‘out of the woods’ yet, so to speak, the weather is changing and hopefully will bring some soaking rain soon.
Local RFS update from this morning
Meanwhile, a couple of well-written articles for your contemplation of the wider catastrophe…
May these difficult circumstances bring humanity to a great awakening!
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Posted: 9/1/20
We had the opportunity to visit Bundanoon and Santi Monastery yesterday (Wednesday). It’s still quite smoky in the area, very irritating for the throat. (In fact, for most of the 90 min. car journey down south there was low visibility due to smoke). Bundanoon town itself has been very lucky, though at least four homes on the edge of town were lost and many hectares of bush and grassland burnt.
Although the monastery property has not been impacted by fire at this stage, it is messy with ash, dead leaves, and the smell of smoke inside and out. At the look-out there wasn’t much visibility to see into the valley or any burnt-out areas through there (the direction the fire came up).
It was sad to see many of the trees on the property further impacted by the very hot weather of late… many are dying in the forest from prolonged lack of moisture over the last few years, and this summer’s continuing drought and recent high heat, (perhaps also the smoke from the fires), seems to be bringing things to a critical point there.
In town we were asked by an RFS guy if we were still staying at Santi, and he was glad to know we were staying away for the time being, adding: “you shouldn’t be there at all this weekend”. Currently, there is fire still in the valleys below Santi and the Bundanoon escarpment. While it has certainly slowed these last couple of days with cooler temps, we now just have to wait and see what happens over the next while. The RFS in Bundanoon and surrounds think that conditions expected tomorrow (Friday) may be difficult again for the area. It doesn’t take much at the moment to re-ignite smouldering fires, just some hot temps. and some wind… There has been drizzle there yesterday and some rain might be expected over the next week or so, but they say we need many days of strong rain to really holt these fires.
Here’s hoping there is some real reprieve for Australia and all the brave firies very soon!
Link to: Advice from Bundanoon RFS for this Friday/Saturday
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Posted: 7/1/20
Seeing the fire maps change configuration a few times over the last couple of days has been interesting! …
“Its gone!… Oh, no its not!… Oh, the fire’s just held at the property line… Oh, the map’s changed again!”
The latest real news however is that it seems Santi Monastery is still untouched by fire, although we are yet to get an eye witness on the ground to look around the property, which is approx. 150 acres of bush land — much of it inaccessible.
While residents are allowed to return to their homes in Bundanoon, authorities are still warning they may have to leave again, as there is still active fire in the area and some drizzle won’t put it out. We need heavy rain for a few days. Todays advice for residents is that: ‘while fire activity has eased, there is still an ongoing threat’… and: ‘residents need to prepare their properties for increased fire activity.‘
Santi is still particularly at high risk due to its position right next to the National Park (in it really), and the ironic fact that the fire front hasn’t yet burnt through there! The Currowan fire front still poses a great threat to the Southern Highlands, and as I write there are three new fires springing up, and a very concerning one at Penrose, the village next to Bundanoon.
I have linked to two documents here for further detailed info:
The Community Fire Information Newsletter – released yesterday afternoon;
and a Weather forecast re fire activity from this morning.
Santi will remain closed for the next while, until it is thoroughly safe to return again and receive visitors there. This may be up to 2-4 weeks, depending on prevailing conditions of course. Please don’t consider visiting the area yet, authorities are recommending staying away if you don’t need to be there. We’ll stay tuned and keep you updated here as we get clear information about developments in the area.
A big thank you to all our supporters and friends who have been sending prayers, doing chanting and offering support. It is quite miraculous that the two bush monasteries in Bundanoon, at this stage, appear not to have been impacted by fire, and that Vejjasala retreat centre in Wingello has only lost two smaller buildings, with the main house and most kutis still intact, despite fire ripping through there, burning the trees and vegetation all around, as well as severely damaging half of the village nearby.
Our prayers and metta-karuna go out to all those who have suffered loss and harm due to these devastating fires across Australia. May they receive all the support they need and find peace in their hearts, and love through connection, despite the pain, grief and loss.
The good news is that the Indian Ocean dipole that has kept Australia dry for far too long has neutralised recently and some wet weather will soon be on its way to our very parched land.
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Posted 5/1/20
It’s been a somewhat restless few days closely monitoring the fire apps as conditions were becoming more threatening to the area where Santi is, as well as watching with dismay the unfolding devastation down on the South coast. On the evening of January 4th the fire front finally reached Bundanoon and the Southern Highlands with the southerly wind change.
The news is not fully clear yet regarding the situation for Santi as the RFS maps have been changing… around midnight on the 4th they showed the area of Santi having burned already while early the next morning the map reconfigured and did not show fire having moved through that part of Bundanoon at all yet. But with the latest update (as of 4:30pm on 5/1/20) the map shows the fire near to the lower part of Santi’s property and having moved into other residential areas in Bundanoon, Exeter, and Wingello.
At this stage the danger is clearly not passed. The fire is very active in the area. I will try to keep this site updated as to the situation for Santi as we get more accurate information.
In the meantime, if you don’t already know this site, you can view the rfs fire map here: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me
NB: this fire map is often several hours or more behind real time events.
May all fires be extinguished and all beings know the extinguishment of dukkha!
See this touching video made by ABC Central Coast
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Posted on Jan 2nd 2020:
The nuns (Ayya’s Jitindriya, Jayasara, and the monastery cat) have relocated to a house in Sydney for the time being until the fire risk at Bundanoon has passed. Ayya Nirodha is still in WA at Dhammasara and Jhana Grove for another month or so, and will likely extend her time away. If you would like to offer support to the nuns in Sydney we are still contactable through the Santi email address: santioffice[at]gmail.com ~ Thank you
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Posted on 29th Dec. 2019:
Dear Friends, due to the extreme fire risk of the Currowan fire in the Morton National Park heading towards the Southern Highlands, we have to close the monastery to all visitors until further notice. The RFS have warned of the fire likely spreading through these parts in the next week or two, so please do not attempt to visit the monastery until you see a post on this website that it is safe to do so.
We will keep you posted with news here as we hear of developments.
With metta,
The Santi Nuns