Saturday, 14th December
Sala Still Intact
On Thursday, 12th December, the monks were allowed to return to the monastery. We were pleased to see that the majority of the infrastructure were still intact. The following were untouched by the fire: kitchen/office area, Sala, Sangha House, all the cabins in the lay village, and last but not least, the WBD sign at the entrance. The fire consumed: three meditation huts (Thera Kuti, Rock Kuti, and Kuti #7), three water tanks, 9 wooden meditation paths, woodpile near lay shower block and a many meters of plastic water pipes. The pictures below does not properly capture how amazing it is that most of the structures were not burnt. In many cases, the bush around the huts were decimated, charred and burnt to the ground, yet the huts themselves show little signs of fire/smoke damage. For this we have the Rural Fire Service to thank for with the water bombing from the helicopters. However, without the help of our friends in Thailand ie Luang Por Piak and Tan Ajahn Dtun, we think the damage would have been much much worse.
Our first priority is to get water to the Monks Area as the water tanks are empty due to the pipes being damaged from the fire. However, the kitchen/office area is fully functional and people are able to come and offer dana. As there is still an active fire in the area, the Wisemans Ferry Road is closed to non-residents. Fortunately, visitors to the monastery are exempted from the road block, if you tell them you’re coming to bring food to the monks. We will be organising Good Karma Weekends to help with the clean up and restoration of the monastery over the next few weekends.
Again, we would like to express much gratitude for the outpour of support and good wishes from local and overseas friends.
Photos of Bushfire at WBD