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Yesterday, we spent 'Australia Day' hiding indoors from the heat. A lot of Australia had temperatures that was pleasant enough to venture out and join in some Australia Day celebrations however here in NE Victoria, the conditions where very hot and very windy. Perfect weather to fan the already out of control fires that are raging all over the State. This is probably the worst Summer for bushfires that I can remember. There where similar conditions back in the early 80s but I was much younger and living in the city so I didn't feel as affected as I do now. I guess we just wheren't as close to the situation as we are now. Over the past 2 weeks there have been many days that I've stepped outside to be greeted by the smell of smoke. 3 of those days, the smoke was quite thick, yet the fires where many kilometres away. Definitely not threatening to this town although we have had a couple of close calls. One morning we where woken early by the sound of helicopters overhead. We stepped outside to find thick, choking smoking. The paddock over the back, just 50 metres away was on fire. Fortunately, the helicopters where out 'spotting' and noticed this blaze. They where able to put it out quickly. Mum had her car packed and was ready to go.
As I'm typing this, I can hear the fire siren going again. Dale (dh) has just stepped outside and said, "Yeah, I can smell it." That siren has barely stopped since Christmas and the hot sun and wind are just not abating. Prayers for all those here in Australia that are fighting fires would be surely appreciated.
Yesterday the temperature was 41C (106F) and very windy. The rest of the week is supposed to be cooler (in the 30s) but stormy all week. Hopefully there will be rain with the thunder and lightning as some of these fires have started as a result of dry electrical storms.
In todays newspaper the toll for Victoria stands at: Lives lost: 3 Hectares burnt: 150,000 (that's 370,658 acres) Houses lost: 27 Livestock killed: 60,300 No. of firefighters: 11,500 |
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