All Alone - 23. Alo Chapter 23

“I guess you would like to see the location of where the fire started, Mr Sherlock and Holmes, I am afraid there is a lot of vehicle moment in the area, as we needed to protect the main house” I commented, and I lead the way outside, with a big grin on my face.

“Very clever Mr Templeton, I hadn’t realised that, till just now” the detective commented, as we stepped outside.

“Oh I had” Sergeant Holmes added, also sporting a huge grin, and we all burst out laughing.

When we arrived at the site of the burnt out shed and two melted poly water tanks close by, I remained silent, as the detective began taking notes, as he circled the shed.

“There is food and beds available for you both, down at the backpacker’s hostel, 4 kms south of the homestead, just follow the main gravel road, I will leave you to it” I said, and not receiving any reply, I climbed into my vehicle and headed back to the visitor’s centre.

“We will both be heading back to Perth now, thank you for your hospitality, and cooperation in this emergency, and good luck with everything” Mike Ashby said to me, when I walked into the conference room.

“Thank you for all your assistance, it could have been a lot worse” I responded.

“Police have reopened the Minilya to Exmouth road, and all Coral Bay residents and visitors are returning to Coral Bay” Mike announced, before leaving.

I followed the two men out and Dave drove them out to the RFDS airfield, where the government jet was sitting, with the pilot already there getting prepared for departure. I headed back to the office, “Have you had enough sleep?” I asked Anne, who had just finished a phone enquiry, regarding Easter.

“Yes, I managed to get a few hours’ sleep in the caravan, which is next to the staff cottage at the moment, and I will go and take a nap soon” Anne replied.

“Good, as we have a busy week and weekend ahead of us, and I don’t want to have any burnt out staff, now, I presume that the call was an Easter enquiry?” I replied.

“Yes, that is the third call asking if there is any alternative accommodation, since there is a lot less, camping places available, and I have opened up the back packers for families only, with 3 families and 6 rooms booked already for 3 nights from Friday” Anne said.

“Good thinking, we might as well put the new hostel to good use, since the 2ndtour group had to be diverted away today, and the Southern caretakers can take control of that lot as well” I replied.

When Dave returned, we all went into the conference room. “I just wanted to thank you all for a wonderful job during this emergency, and a special thanks to Dave and his wife Sue especially, having been thrown into the deep end, on their first two days on the station.

Now just to let everyone know what is happening, our station angels, Sue and Rebecca are still down at the backpackers, cleaning up and they will stay there, as we have two police officers who will be staying there tonight, Dave, you and your wife will have to stay there for now, until we get power back to your house” I said.

“We are happy to camp out in our swags and give them the cottage if you like” Matt commented, and Greg nodded his head in agreement.

“Ok, thanks guys, just use the spare room in my apartment, so now we have Dave and Sue’s accommodation sorted, we need to start preparing for the Easter Long Weekend, and School holidays” I said.

“So far we have the tour group coming on Thursday as usual, for the one night, then for three nights we currently have three families in 4 rooms, with the two end quad rooms and two twin rooms next to them for two of the families, and two twin rooms for the other family” Anne said.

“Right, thanks Anne, now if you and Chris can head back to your campsite at 14 mile tomorrow, after you have had a good rest today, that would be good, Troy and your wife, you should be able to set up your caravan on the concrete slab now, so just grab Greg, if you need any help with that. Dave, I want you and Matt to take both Colorado’s, your trailer Dave, and the station trailer please Matt.

Head for Carnarvon, as I have some serious shopping for you both to do, I will book you into a motel in town, so you will have most of today and tomorrow morning to get the shopping done, so if you can get going as soon as possible that would be great” I announced.

Dave made a quick call to Sue, to let her know what is happening, and that she can stay overnight at the hostel, while he is away, before theyheaded off.

When everyone but Greg had left the room, as I indicated him to stay, I waited till I heard the front door of the visitor centre close. “Right, can you take a station ute, get a blue 200 litre drum and strap it on the back, then fill it with fresh water, and from the shed get a heap of rags, some spare steel pickets and hammer.

I want you to head up the coastal track all the way to Pelican Point, and I need you check out the damage of the fire, from where it stops at itsnorthern point, and coming back I want you to replace any steel pickets, and see if you can wash and rub clean all camping indicator signs at Maggie’s and Elle’s Beaches, and all signs from Pelican Point, down to Wedding Hill” I said to Greg.

“Sure thing, Boss, not a problem” Greg replied and he dashed off, but came back soon after to retrieve a sat phone, and I smiled as he collected it and dashed off again, and I went into my office to start up a list of things that needed to be purchased in Carnarvon.

1 - 9 KVA diesel generator, and power cables, 6 double kayaks, with 12 PFD jackets and 12 paddles, a 2000 litre poly tank, which will be placed at the airfield, and attached to the new pipe line from the artesian bore, two 1000 litre poly tanks, one for the Southern Caretaker camp, the other for the new main house, and the two gazebos for the southern caretaker, plus 20 portable toilets, 24 bottles of Portable Toilet chemical and fold up toilet shelters.

With the list compiled, I contacted the relevant suppliers to make the orders, and pay for it all, and with the kayaks, I asked for them to be lightly engraved with ‘Coral Coast Station’ on them. With that done, I contacted the building company in Geraldton, that built the staff cottage, which is more like a compact home made up of 2 forty-foot long shipping containers.

“Good morning, Lloyd Templeton here, do you by any chance have any Norway design homes already built? I asked once I was connected to the company director.

“Good Morning Mr Templeton hope everything is ok for you up on Coral Coast station” the building company director replied.

“Yes, the fire is out now, thank goodness, but it has caused us a few issues, regarding staff accommodation, and I was…” I stopped talking when suddenly I felt the ground shaking, and I dropped the phone and sprinted out the door, whistling for Angus to follow me.

Once outside, I watched and waited for the quake to stop, hoping that there would be no damage to the visitor centre. When the quake final stopped shaking the building a good 30 seconds later, I waited for another minute before going back inside, and I heard talking coming from the phone.

“Hello, Mr Templeton, is everything alright, we just felt an earthquake down here” came the voice on the phone, as I bent down to pick up the phone which was dangling over the side of the desk.

“Yes hello, we felt it here too and it was strong, I will have to call you back, bye” I said,and I ended the call. “South Caretaker to Visitor centre over” I heard on the radio, and I went to answer the radio call.

“Base to Southern Caretakers, receiving you Rebecca, over” I answered, “Are you ok boss, felt like we just had a huge earthquake, over” Rebecca replied.

“Yes, I felt it, can you please do a thorough check on the backpacker’s, to make sure there is no damage in any of the rooms, and report back to me, I will be doing the same here, over”, Ok boss, over and out” Rebecca said.

I spent the next fifteen minutes doing a thorough check on every room in the visitor centre and apartment, then checked on the staff cottage, which I knew would be fine since it consists of steel containers, but I found one window had cracked in the study, and everything else seemed to be fine.

Happy that there was no damage in the visitor centre, I sat down in the office and waited for a report back, just as Chris and Anne appeared, “Did we just have an earthquake, or was it just us two having a good time” Chris asked, with a big grin, and Anne burst out laughing, as she blushed deeply.

“Too much, information guys, and yes, we did have an earthquake, I was on the phone to someone in Geraldton, and he felt it too” I replied, “Sorry boss, I couldn’t help myself” Chris said, as I looked up the Geoscience Australia website on the computer. When the information came up a few moments later, I whistled in shock, and Angus came rushing in.

“Oh, sorry Angus, I wasn’t calling you, but come and sit on my lap” I said as I patted my leg, and Angus jumped up and settled into my lap, as I stared at the screen, with Anne and Chris looking over my shoulders.

“Geoscience Australia, Earthquake recorded at 0948am today, Epicentre is; Longitude 113.348, Latitude is 23.536, location is 162 kms NNW of Carnarvon, 24 kms from the Australian West coast. Magnitude is 4.8”.

“Where exactly are those coordinates? Anne asked me.

”Just about 2 kms north of our south boundary” I stated, feeling a little shaken, and the phone rang, which Chris answered.

“Coral Coast Station Chris speaking” he said, and a call over the radio came moments later, “Greg to Base over” and Anne took the radio mic.

“Base to Greg, please hold, over” she said, and there was no reply, and Chris pressed the speaker button on the phone. “You are on loud speaker, Mr Templeton is listening” Chris said.

“Ah good, it is Mike Ashby here, just checking in to see if everything is ok, after that shake we just had” the Perth senior fire officer said over the phone.

“So, you felt it as far as Perth?” I asked, “Yes we did, and I believe it was in your region”, the Fire office stated.

“Well we definitely felt it, the epicentre, according to the Geoscience Australia Website, states that it was in line with our southern boundary, and 23 kms out to sea, so it was very close indeed” I replied.

“I see, that is not very good, especially after the cyclone and the wild fire you have had” the fire officer said.

“Rebecca to base, I have an update for you boss, over” came Rebecca’s voice over the radio, and I nodded my head to Anne, “Go ahead Rebecca, the boss is here, as is Fire Inspector Ashby via the phone, over”.

“Ok, well there is no damage to report at the backpacker, but we have travelled up the track to check on the main house, and it is severely damaged, over” Rebecca reported.

“Damn, what else can go wrong at this place” I said, “Ok, thanks Rebecca, come back to base, over” Anne said, before turning to face me.

“Well that is not good, I believe the police are now on their way back to Carnarvon, so I will give them a call, and update them on the situation” Mike Ashby said.

“Thanks Mike, bye for now” I replied, and Chris hit the end call button.

“Come on Chris lets see how much damage there is” I said as I stood up and placed Angus on the warm chair that I had left, and he went back to sleep. Once in my vehicle we set off up the hill, and I grabbed the radio mic.

”Lloyd to Greg, over” I said, “receiving you boss, I heard what Rebecca said, I felt it here, as I was out of the vehicle at the time, I am on my way back south, and I am approaching Maggie’s, over” Greg said.

“Ok mate keeps on going with the job I gave you and see you when you get back, over” I said, before hanging up the mic, as we drove passed the ruins of the shed and water tanks.

“That’s another mess we will need to clean up, once we get the go ahead” I said to Chris, as I slowed and stopped a good distance from the house, which had one end wall missing.

Keeping our distance, we walked around the house before returning to the vehicle and driving back down to the Visitor’s centre. “The main house is a right off, no one is to get anywhere near it, as it is too dangerous” I said to Anne, who nodded her head in understanding.

“I’ve just got off the phone with the building company in Geraldton, they ask for you to call back, when you have time” Anne said to me, just as the phone rang again and she answered it.

“Please hold” Anne said before turning to me, “It is ABC Mid-West Radio, asking for an interview about the recent earthquake” Anne said.

I groaned, “I will take it in the conference room on my own thanks” I said as I walked out of the office and into the conference room, closing the door behind me.

“Hello, this is Lloyd Templeton speaking” I said after picking up the phone. “Mr Templeton, this is Carol from ABC Mid-west Radio, can we have a moment of your time for interview please” the lady asked, “Yes ok, but just a short one” I responded.