Iconic backdrop of TV soap Home and Away turns apocalyptic as bushfire smoke chokes the Sydney coastline – and actors say it feels ‘wrong’ to be working
- Bushfires have torn through a million hectares along the New South Wales
- Home and Away’s iconic Sydney backdrop, Palm Beach, turned apocalyptic
- Actors shared images from set showing thick smoke covering iconic beach
- Kestie Morassi said it ‘felt wrong’ to be working while area nearby under threat
Home and Away’s iconic ‘Summer Bay’ beach backdrop has turned apocalyptic with thick smoke from the bushfires choking the coastline.
Actors from the Australian soap have shared harrowing images, , which were taken during filming at Palm Beach, on Sydney’s northern beaches, on Tuesday.
Kestie Morassi, who plays Maggie Astoni, said it ‘felt wrong’ to be working on the show while the surrounding area was being threatened by multiple blazes.
Home and Away’s iconic beach (pictured) turned apocalyptic with thick smoke from the bushfires choking the coastline
Actress Kestie Morassi, who plays Maggie Astoni, (pictured) shared the image on Instagram, saying it ‘felt wrong’ to be filming
‘Today was such an eerie day,’ she captioned the image.
‘Felt wrong to be working, filming sugary stories unable to acknowledge what was happening around us. Breathing in smoked air and ash sprinkling down on us, all blown from such a distance.
‘My heart goes out to all the people and animals who are fighting and have fought for their lives and their homes. No words can thank emergency rescue heroes enough.’
In the image, the once picturesque beach was covered in thick black and brown smoke.
Someone from the crew can be seen standing on the sand with a scarf covering his face.
In another post she urged others to help by donating to emergency and wildlife services.
Her co-star Georgie Parker commented on the picture, saying: ‘It’s hard to really comprehend the enormity and horror of it all.’
In another post (pictured) she urged others to help by donating to emergency and wildlife services
Georgie Parker, who plays Ruth ‘Roo’ Stewart, (pictured with Ray Meagher) also shared an image saying she was thinking of everyone who has been affected by the fires
She also shared an image of smoke covering the Sydney Harbour and said she was thinking of everyone who was affected by the blaze.
Dozens of fires were burning from Nowra, south of Sydney, all the way to the Queensland border – after Tuesday’s deadly combination of scorching temperatures, strong winds and low humidity fuelled the flames.
The ‘catastrophic’ conditions are expected to calm on Wednesday but NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said residents are not out of the woods yet.
This map shows where the fires burned on Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters were busy after a catastrophic fire danger was declared for the the greater Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra areas