Erica

"By 10 January, it was estimated that 200 men, women and children were homeless in the Erica district."

Erica was visited by disastrous fires three times in the twentieth century: in 1926, 1932 and 1939. O'Shea & Bennett's mill was the first to be established in the upper Thomson Valley in 1924. It was destroyed in the bushfires of 1926, but was rebuilt with the aid of a Government grant. In 1932 the mill was again threatened by fire, and eight men stayed at the mill in order to defend it. However, the fire was too fierce to be resisted and, without a dugout, there was little chance of escape for the men. Six of the eight were killed. As a result of this disaster, most of the sawmills subsequently built in the district had a dugout as a fire refuge.

By early January 1939 there were already several fires burning in the district. Monett's sawmill was the first to be destroyed on 8 January, while eight others were directly threatened by the flames and the women and children were evacuated. By 10 January, it was estimated that 200 men, women and children were homeless in the Erica district. At those few mills without dugouts, their defenders were forced to retreat to rivers as the fire swept over their mill. One by one the mills were cut-off from the town which was itself in a desperate position. On 13 January the fires converged under the influence of a hot northerly gale. If it had not been for the fact that dugouts had been widely accepted because of the disaster of 1932, it is certain that lives would have been lost. As it was, no one died in the Erica district.