Scorched earth now surrounds the charred remains of Anna Spark’s container home on Worsley Spur, although she is forever grateful her alpaca “babies” survived.
Spark was at work in New Brighton on Wednesday when her mother rang to say she could see the fire from Riccarton mall’s roof-top car park.
An Emergency Mobile Alert blared on her phone as she rushed up the hill, urging all Worsleys Road residents to evacuate.
“I was just completely overwhelmed and really freaking out,” she said.
She left her grandfather John Joseph with a policeman, as flames and smoke charged over the hills towards the family farm.
Adrenaline pumping, Spark rescued three dogs and her cat and went back for her goat.
“I had to tie the goat to the back of my car and drive really slowly all the way round to the Sign of the Kiwi cafe,” she said.
“So it was quite an ordeal.”
Spark had no choice but to leave her late grandmother’s alpacas behind, including two babies, but returned home on Thursday to discover they were still alive.
“All our alpacas miraculously, no joke, survived. Their paddock has been burnt through, and for some reason it missed the shed, went around their paddock and hit my containers. The fact that they’re alive is amazing,” she said.
Spark is shocked by the loss of her home and personal possessions, although she realised there was a good chance they would go in Wednesday’s inferno.
“When we left the hill I could see flames as I drove off. We just thought anything that’s burnable is toasted,” she said.
“It’s absolutely gutting, but I also at that point was just so grateful for the life of the animals.
“I probably haven’t processed the loss of my stuff so much yet. I’m just focused on how grateful I am that all my babies are alive.”
She said her grandfather and uncle had been escorted to their property each day and the family had been overwhelmed by public support.
A Givealittle page set up to help Spark has now raised more than $20,000.
Her grandfather John Joseph told Morning Report on Thursday that it was a “miracle” his house had been spared.
“The house was saved seven years ago and this time it was worse, it got within 20 metres of the house,” he said.
“We’ve been at the centre of two extraordinary situations.”
