South Australian Deputy Premier Vickie Chapman’s home survives fires

South Australian Deputy Premier Vickie Chapman is surrounded by a ‘valley of black’ but her family’s home on Kangaroo Island has survived the horrific bushfire.

Ms Chapman said the ‘sun was shining and there’s a bit of a breeze’ blowing on Monday morning as islanders assessed the damage from the blaze, which has burnt more than 155,000 hectares.

Some pockets are still burning, especially along the north coast, but the risk to lives and properties has lessened significantly.

Much attention will now be paid to managing livestock as people work to secure their properties, replacing fencing and other repairs.

‘It is a difficult situation but our primary attention at the moment is managing the animals, wildlife included,’ she told ABC radio.

Ms Chapman said the fire was devastating for some of the island’s third-generation farming families.

‘It is a catastrophe for some of those families,’ she said.

‘I’m just so pleased that our people here have rallied together. They’re helping each other.’

She also pointed to a future discussion about fuel loads, saying she came from a family that understood it was a case of ‘burn or be burnt’.

Ms Chapman said the ‘sun was shining and there’s a bit of a breeze’ blowing on Monday morning as islanders assessed the damage from the blaze, which has burnt more than 155,000 hectares. Dead animals are seen on Kangaroo Island

‘The only thing we have some control over is the management of the fuel load,’ she said.

‘But there is no immediate remedy when the winds are really roaring across steep gullies.’

Ms Chapman retained a sense of optimism for the island and its residents, describing it as a ‘place of attraction to the world’.

‘It will be green again. Mother nature has an amazing way of regenerating,’ she said.