'Total Devastation': South Australia Winery Destroyed in Catastrophic Bushfires
The Cudlee Creek fire burned uncontrolled through the Adelaide Hills in South Australia on December 22 after earlier destroying at least two wineries in the district.
The owners of the Tilbrook Estate winery, near Lenswood to the east of the state capital, said they had lost all of their wine stock and 90 percent of their vineyards when the fire raged through the area on December 20.
An emergency warning was issued for the fire on the Friday with residents ordered to take shelter because it was too dangerous to leave.
James Tilbrook told Storyful said the destruction of the wine stock meant “we have lost our livelihood, which means we can’t pay our mortgage or other outgoings.”
“We have insurance, but practically speaking this won’t keep us going. It will pay for rebuilding. (Our) first target is to get to vintage … once we have wine again we are back in business,” he said.
These videos, filmed on December 20, show the damage in and around the winery after the fires swept through. In an Instagram post on Saturday, Tilbrook Estate said the footage showed “total devastation.”
Another nearby winery, Golding Wines, was also reported to have been destroyed in the blaze.
At least one man was killed and more than a dozen homes reportedly burned down in the South Australia bushfires in the space of a few days. Credit: Tilbrook Estate via Storyful
