Around this district they still burn cane.
Burdekin's one of the few places that still does.
So originally, they started burning years and years ago
they decided the most effective way
to make it safer was to burn dead leaves.
They study which way the wind's going
they wait 'til the wind's nice and calm.
When you're little, it was great.
You'd run outside and see the big fires.
We used to run around as little ones trying to catch all the ash.
We call it Burdekin snow.
So it's black snow.
In Queensland cane country, it never snows.
It barely even rains.
With this drought, it's been a common message
that this one is different to in the past
and the droughts they'll go through in the future.
They were sort of hit with the perfect storm with this one.
I think it's as bad as we've seen it out west
and other places up north in the Gulf, and all around it's very, very dry.
Probably was too young to be on the property.
It's so upsetting because it is happening.
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