Hi Rikki...every time I watch the news in my neck of the woods they're doing full time coverage of the "great Australian fire." I'm looking at the statistics of those who lost their lives already, 500,000 animals perished, homes destroyed, koala bears approaching extinction. I'm always watching and thinking...are YOU alright? It's my understanding that most of built-up Australia is on the East Coast. Are the fires in a desolate area then?

You sound pretty relaxed in your posts so I'm guessing you don't live near the danger zone? Yes? No?

Hi Mark,
Thank you for asking.
Personally we are ok at this stage. We’ve only had smoke for the last month or so. We don’t live near bush land, though we do have 100’s of acres of very dry grassland backing onto our back fence. The kangaroos we used to have grazing there are slowly disappearing , I think more to do with lack of food. It hasn’t rained in months.

We moved from the east coast to the country last year.

The fires are unbelievable, never been anything quite like it, a combination of drought, fuel on the ground ie dead leaves , branches fallen trees etc in our National Parks recipe for disaster. Total inferno.

People are missing, the animals killed doesn’t bear thinking, both farm animals and our native animals.

We used to live in a coastal town called Port Macquarie. Huge population of koalas . Half of them got wiped out in a day or so. The poor little creatures don’t run, they just sit in the gum trees and burn to death.

A lot of the coastal towns are surrounded by the national parks , thousands of acres of forests, one in particular they had to get the navy in to evacuate the town, 1,000 plus people. The road was cut off they had no food or electricity, and temperatures of over 100 deg.

Found out this afternoon my brother and family are caught up in the fires.
He sent his wife and daughter into town where they should be safe, he and his son are staying back to fight the fire if their property gets affected. We’re just praying there isn’t a wind change , which will bring the fires towards them.

I’ve sort of been posting a lot , keeps my mind off things.

Hi Mark, thanks for your concern for "Downunder", comforting to know that the rest of the world recognises the drama.
California suffers from similar fires at times.
Following news reports, Unless you are there, you cannot imagine the intensity of these fires, and they are expected to burn for weeks/months as there are no barriers to stop them because of the fuel load which has built up over a number of years.
Not the time to put the blame, just hope we/they can stop them from doing anymore harm.
The world is full of tragic events, floods in other places !!!
I live in Sydney and the water supply is a worry. we are on water restrictions which are about to get more severe.
It never rains when/where you want it !!

Ray

According to the song, it never rains in southern California - well, not when they need it most, either.

I can't imagine the scale of these fires in Oz. I can only hope things start improving for you really soon. Take care.

This broke my heart this morning. Wishing you the best Rikki.

Rikki
You come to mind every time the fires come on the news....which is very often. The devastation and anguish is almost beyond belief. Here is wishing you, your family, your brother and his family stay out of harms way. Your recent postings have been most informative. I didn't realize they were also helping you cope with the fire situation.
Ed

Rikki, let me join the others in wishing you and your family a safe outcome in this horrific ordeal. Your uplifting spirit in these trying times is an inspiration to us all.

chas

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/world/australia/fires.html


Rikki & Nigels family I have been reading about this horrible disaster in your country...
Prayers to you and your family & friends, please stay safe.

We were discussing this at breakfast this morning ...
Stay safe, Rikki ...
Praying for an immediate conclusion and rapid recovery ...

Rikki, sorry to hear what's happened in Oz. It has been many years since I last was in Woomera and Perth, but as I recall from back then, the outback was tinder dry and extremely hot, ideal for brush fires. I guess not much has changed with these conditions.

Stay safe,

Gary