Mona Crowston had only minutes to gather her belongings before the wildfire that had been burning for days at the edge of her town swept down towards her house. The 84-year-old already had a suitcase packed, just in case.
“I made sure to tidy up what I could before we left. The last thing I wanted was to return home and have a messy room,” she said. She and her husband left on 30 June 2021. Months