Imperial residents Jacqi Fullerton and husband Angus Ferguson’s daughter lives in Meriumbula, between two bushfires still burning in Australia. (Courtesy photo)
This map shows the location of Jacqi Fullerton and Angus Ferguson’s daughter in Meriumbula (1) in relation to two bushfires (2,3).(Johnson Publications graphic)
Imperial residents have family in Australian fires
While Australia and its bushfires may not be on our minds on a daily basis, that’s not the case for Chase County residents Jacqi Fullerton and husband Angus Ferguson.
Ferguson, an Australian native, met Fullerton while she was in Australia on a trip.
Fullerton arrived back in the United States in early 2018, but it took longer for her husband, Angus, to arrive due to immigration paperwork. “It took a lot longer than last time,” she said.
Ferguson accepted a position with Madduxes and the couple has been in Chase County since last May.
Their ranch wasn’t the only thing they left in Australia. The pair has three daughters, all who still live there.
Two of the girls are away from most of the damage. The middle daughter, though, is in the heat of it. She lives in Merimbula with her fiance and one-year-old child.
Merimbula—about five hours from Sydney—is a tourist town, and has been surrounded by two bushfires since before Christmas.
Eden—about 15 miles south—and Bega—20 miles north—have bushfires still burning, though they’re considered contained as of this week.
The United States and Australia are similar in physical size, with Australia having approximately 4.8 million sqare miles and the U.S. having approximately 6.1 million sqare miles. However, the populations are vastly different.
Because the population is much more spread out than in the U.S., many towns that have succumbed to the fires do not plan to rebuild.
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