When Cobargo couple Connie and Mark Woodberry arrived in Oregon in mid-March, as the global COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold, they had endured close encounters with three separate bushfires in Australia.
Their horror run started in September last year, when a bushfire broke out south of their home on the NSW far south coast.
By early November, smoke from bushfires further north was beginning to choke many towns along the far south coast, prompting the couple to visit family in the Adelaide Hills — a critical decision.
"The Lobethal fires in Adelaide Hills hit just before Christmas and we had to evacuate my husband's parents overnight," Ms Woodberry said.
About 200 blazes broke out across South Australia over that weekend, in catastrophic conditions which claimed one man's life, injured four firefighters, and destroyed several homes.
They returned home shortly before a firestorm devastated Cobargo on News Year's Eve.
"By the time we packed the car the heat from the fires was almost unbearable," Ms Woodberry said.
"It felt like the world was on fire."
Job prospects led the couple to the US in March, where they faced accommodation shortages and city lockdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic, before being thrown into another bushfire emergency.
Several active fires are raging on the US West Coast, killing 35 people so far and destroying thousands of homes across California and Oregon.
"We're safe here in Newberg, west of Portland, as the main fires are south of Portland," Ms Woodberry said.
"We live with fire in Australia, but here it is more unexpected and has taken a lot of people by surprise."
As COVID-19 continues to affect international travel, the couple intends to wait out the fires and health pandemic.
Once again, Ms Woodberry is living with choking smoke, which is keeping her indoors most days.
"There is a saying, 'there is no away'. I think we are finally truly understanding the meaning of that."
