CANBERRA Australia (AP) -- A year after a wildfire swept with devastating power into Australia's capital, the worst-hit neighborhoods still bear the scars - blackened earth, scorched trees, vacant building lots.
On Sunday, hundreds of people plan to gather at a lakeside park in Canberra to remember the loss, tragedy, heroism and community spirit generated when walls of flame ravaged the city, incinerating 507 homes and killing four people.
The inferno, which swept out of grass and pine plantations on the edge of Canberra on Jan. 18 last year, was like no other experienced in recent memory.
After a yearlong drought, winds of up to 90 mph, combined with temperatures of more than 104 degrees and record low humidity to stoked a blaze that overwhelmed firefighters.
John Flannery watched in horror as a swirling ball of flames barreled toward his house with a roar like a jet engine, spitting out chunks of blazing trees.
``It was like a horror movie with this thing outside our house, fingers of flame were darting under the doors, curtains were beginning to burn,'' said Flannery who lost his house and everything in it. ``The house was starting to burn, the roof was caving in when we left, I honestly just don't know how we got out with our lives.''
But for Flannery and hundreds of other Canberra families who have been unable to rebuild their homes the tragedy is not a grim memory, but a bitter and lingering reality.
The inferno's aftermath is felt in soaring house prices and building costs that have made it impossible for many to rebuild.
According to the city government's Planning and Land Authority just 47 of the 507 homes destroyed have been rebuilt. Another 147 have been approved for construction.
The authority's chief planner, Neil Savery, said although a few people had decided to sell their land and move, most have chosen to start over on the same block.
But hundreds of people are discovering their insurance coverage has not kept pace with the impact of the fire on the real estate and building markets.
``The crux of the problem is affordability, the sums just don't add up,'' said Flannery who, with his wife Liz Tilley and three children has been living in a rented house with donated furniture for the past year.
They paid $256,000 for their home before it was destroyed. It was insured for $240,000.
Last week they got a quote to rebuild a slightly more modest home for $400,000.
``We were gobsmacked. We had to pick ourselves up off the floor,'' said Flannery. ``We still have a very sizable mortgage and that price will just go straight on top of that.''
The problem for fire victims is that the inferno came in the midst of an overheated real estate market. To make matters worse, the loss of 500 homes in a city of 320,000 people swamped local builders, sending construction and building material costs higher.
``Insurance pays you out for what you lost but that was in an old market. You have to rebuild in a new market and a competitive real estate market,'' said Flannery.
Builder Steve Douglas, who is rebuilding his own home said the price of building a house has jumped 50 percent since the fire. ``The fact is people just can't afford it,'' Douglas said.
Despite the heartaches and financial burdens, Tilley said the disaster generated a community spirit and generosity that surprised her.
``We have had so much help from so many people, friends, strangers, businesses, the community in general,'' said Tilley. ``I guess the lesson is if you are going to have a disaster have it with 500 other people.''
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