Bush Fires also caused much consternation at Erica, on Monday. Coming for the direction of the Junction, six miles away, the fire approached to within a very short distance of buildings to the town. It is reported to have been reminiscent of 1932, when six lives were lost and much damage done.

Against a strong wind, under a scorching sun and in blinding smoke, the fire-fighters, with local and visiting police, had a difficult task, as the fire on a two-mile front swept down behind the hotel, hall and homes in that vicinity. A change in the wind, which later in the evening dropped considerably, saved the town.

Another alarm was raised when, towards evening, it became known that the three-year-old only son of Mr and Mrs T Mathieson was missing. It is reported that the child followed his father into the bush, when he went fire-fighting. Crowds of people joined in the search for the lost boy, and headlights of cars were turned on to the bush. The lad was discovered about 9 pm, caught in a barbed-wire fence, under which he had crouched.

Welcome rains fell at Erica on Tuesday and Wednesday, and, apart from putting out the fires, it replenished the water supply, many householders having been without water in their tanks. As was to be expected, the water is very ‘smoky’.

[NSA, 25/11/38]