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| PHOTO: Brittany Daly |
These fires are horrendous and so many people have lost their homes (577 in the last two weeks) and all their belongings. The homes can always be rebuilt and furniture can be replaced. However, you cannot replace photographs or personal items that have special memories attached to them.
Over a million hectares (2.5 million acres) have now been razed across New South Wales since the start of this year's unprecedented bushfire season. People have been killed and there has been so much destruction on the state's mid-north coast and northwest where bushfires ravaged regional towns. The rail between Brisbane and Sydney has been shut down, as the the lines have been warped by the fire.
Liz is right in the thick of this, at present she's okay, but it must be scary to have these fires so close to home. Being right on the coast, I think Liz should remain safe, however, the highway is closed and not knowing which way the fire will head next, my doll will remain with her until Liz knows it's safe to send her.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those in the fire zone as things have been predicted to worsen. With forecasts of a heatwave later this week and temperatures expected to climb past 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, I am really dreading the outcome.
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| PHOTO: ABC |
Sydney has been covered in smoke haze, South Australia has also had fires with 111 schools closed due to temperatures of 42C. Now fires are out of control in Western Australia. What makes me really sick to my stomach is that some of these fires have been deliberately lit by teenagers . . . I don't know what goes on in those people's heads.
Meanwhile, the northern part of Victoria faces scorching days as northerly winds will leave temperatures well over 40C both today and tomorrow, which has prompted the CFA to declare a total fire ban for the Mallee region.
Melbourne was expected to heat up today before hitting one of its hottest November days ever, as temperatures are forecast to hit 39C tomorrow, so I'm going to take my doggy for his walk now before it gets too hot and I'll be back in a few days, hopefully with something more positive to talk about.
I hate bushfires! And it's not just lives and homes that are lost. There's crops and livestock and pets. And many homes that "survive" will be severely smoke damaged, so yeah, they'll have a house but all it will smell of smoke for years and all their soft furnishings and clothes and upholstery will be ruined. I know that sounds petty but when Betty up the road died, and Jill and Margaret lost their homes, and you don't know where your beloved pet is, the last thing you want to do is deep clean EVERYTHING YOU own and there's nobody else to help because they're all doing it too.
ReplyDeletePeople that start bushfires should be thrown in them.
Hi Rachael,
DeleteI can see by your comment this hits a tender spot in your heart, but I think the best thing we can do in this case is donate whatever we can afford to the Salvos.
I'm not sure I agree with throwing the arsonists in the fire, but I don't think jail time serves as a deterent anymore either, besides it only costs the tax payers money to keep them. Money that I would rather see spent helping those who have lost everything. However, I would be happy to see them spend community service cleaning up what that started and having a % of their income garnered until they had repaid for the damage they caused.
That's actually an idea. As their community service, they could have to clean and repair public buildings, street signs, playgrounds, etc that were damaged
DeleteHello Sandi,
ReplyDeleteThis is terrible, I really wish that all those fires could be extinguished soon. Liz can wait, the lives of all those people and animals that are victims of fires are more important, although the loss of all those forests and the suffering of all those people who have lost all their belongings is painful. The worst is knowing that some of them have been deliberately lit by teenagers. I hope you are well and everything will return to normal soon.
Greetings ^^
Hi Lily,
DeleteThese fires have been burning for weeks now, and many are still out of control. Things have eased slightly in parts of NSW but high temperatures and strong winds who knows what will happen today.
I am in Melbourne, a long way from the fires, but seeing the updates on the news each day one cannot help feel for those in the areas affected. This is only the beginning of the fire season here so I doubt if anything will return to normal soon, but I do thank you for your good wishes.
Oh gosh...stay safe, chica! I assume you're nowhere near that, but stay safe all the same.
ReplyDeleteRM we are fine where we live, but we have property up near the border of NSW/Victoria and hubby has been up there slashing for the last couple of days in preparation for what is ahead for Victoria as the weather heats up.
DeleteDear Sandi, please please please stay safe. I know that the fires aren't in your area (well I think not anyway) but the high temperatures are scary too....we had them here during our summer too.
ReplyDeleteI am so sad for the people and animals that are affected by this. My cousins were in Sydney yesterday but left this morning for Melbourne, so hopefully they are ok too.
I'll be thinking of you and hoping that all stays well with you.
Big hugs xxx
Hi Sharon,
DeleteNo fires nearby here, but we had our hottest November night on record and it's expected to hit 39c today, high 40's in NSW. Victoria is Code Red for the first time in 10 years, but a cool change is expected later this afternoon.
It's awful when you see the little koalas that have been rescued, they are all scorched, the poor little critters. Animal rescue centers are doing the best they can and people are donating money to help.
Just as well your cousins left Sydney, the winds have blown smoke and it's covered in a huge haze. They should be fine in Melbourne as long as they are staying somewhere that has air conditioning. :) I haven't switched mine on yet, but I have had my ceiling fans going all night.
I heard from Liz last night, she's fine and my doll is now on her way, so I hope she arrives safely.
Big hugs,
X
Hi YeYe,
ReplyDeleteYes it does, and that particular map is only NSW, South Aust. has also had terrible fires. There have been some teenagers already arrested, but I think many of the fires are still being investigated. Thank you.
Los incendios forestales son una pesadilla, y una tragedia. Aquí en España los sufrimos mucho también, a mí me parece terrible y sufro mucho por ello, me parece increíble que haya personas que puedan causarlos conscientemente. Espero que en Australia se acabe pronto con el fuego.
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo.
Gracias por tus amables pensamientos, Ilona, pasará algún tiempo antes de que las cosas vuelvan a la normalidad.Hoy ha habido nuevos incendios en Victoria. Incluso donde estoy en Melbourne, las temperaturas alcanzaron los 40.9c.
DeleteGrandes abrazos,
X
That's horrible! I didn't know there was fire in Australia. I hope it doesn't go any worse and that you stay safe from the fire. I wish I could send some of the rain we had here yesterday there.
ReplyDeleteTake care and keep us posted so we know you're safe.
The rain would be most welcome by our fire fighters MC, but there's none in sight. It's not a single fire, there are many fires throughout five states.
DeleteIf you look at a map of the world, you would see this is a big country (7.692 million km²) and the fires cover a large area. To give you an idea of size, Spain is 504,782 km² and the state of NSW where most of the fires are is 800,600 km².
Don't worry about me, I am quite safe and well away from the fires.
Hugs,
X
How horrible and my heart goes out to all of these families!! There's a similar situation going on here in California and it's just so devastating. Best wishes and stay safe! I hope there is a solution to these fires soon. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you Farrah, to give you an idea of the size of these fires, the Californian wildfires covered 101,313 hectares (250,349 acres). Here in Australia the bushfires have covered ten times that of California's and there is no end in sight.
DeleteI am not in any way affected by these fires, we are quite safe, but I do thank you for your good wishes.
Hugs,
X
Oh my God. That's horrible. I miss the words and my heart is crying. I hope it gets better soon and the help comes to all who are in need.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes :*
Thank you Urszula, I'm sure your best wishes are certainly welcomed by those in need.
DeleteBig hugs,
X
I hope Liz will be okay. I know we've talked about this in email but I'll say it again, I'm with you, I do not know why someone would deliberately light fires to endanger people's lives and property. Not to mention our already dwindling wildlife. I hadn't realised it had spread so far. I read on a news site earlier in the week that it looks like this summer is going to be the most horrific for all of Australia with scorching temperatures. From the map they showed, it looks like the deepest reds are around the tropics like where I am. I can already see we will have a fire ban again this year. We usually do most years as our summers here can get really bad.
ReplyDeleteI pray for rain in all the affected areas and that there are no more loss of life or property. It's heartbreaking to see the stories on the news of the people directly affected by the fires.
Liz is okay Alasse. and as I just mentioned my doll has arrived safely. The fires are the worst I have ever seen in my life. Unfortunately, they did have a little rain, but not enough to quell the fires, and it came with lightening strikes which only started more. The poor firefighters are really having a tough time of it, they must all be exhausted.
DeleteWe have even had some fires near our property. When I spoke to hubby on Friday, he said there was smoke and strong winds up there, but don't worry he's okay.
Big hugs,
X
Glad to hear he's fine and hope he continues to stay safe! And your property stays well and clear of any fires! We've got a bit of a heatwave here today. It's getting really hot.
DeleteHello! This is so sad and horrible. Have been following the news over here in my little country. Sweden is just 450 295 km², so there would not be so much left. We have forest fires over here and the farmers lost a lot at the fire last year. It hurts to see people losing so much - homes and all they have built up. I can only hope the families find their strength and can start again.
ReplyDeleteStay save and hope that Willowmenia is safe too.
Big Hugs!
Hi Niina,
DeleteWell you would know how bad it is then and you're right there wouldn't. Fires like this not only effect people who have lost everything, farms and wildlife, the whole country suffers in the long run.
As I've said before, I am safe, so don't worry about me . . . and Willowmenia is safe too. :)
Big hugs,
X
I hope you will stay safe - bushfire looks incredibly scary... I saw some horrible footages from Australia fires and I almost cried, thinking about all those lost lives, both peoples and animals (I also saw the volunteers saving the coala bears... It was terryfying and beautiful, at the same time). Sometimes in summer we also have forest fires here, but only once I saw something similiar to this hell - in 1992. We almost had to evacuate at that time, but luckily the wind changed the direction of marching fire and our town was saved. And that fire was also deliberately coused by someone - the firemen found jars with gasoline in different parts of the woods.
ReplyDeleteThank you Chiriann. Those poor little Koalas were endangered before the fires, so it makes one wonder how many will be left in their natural habitat now . . . it's so sad.
DeleteBig hugs,
X
This is really terrible. And it happens all around the world lately. I think that the most scary thing is that people are so helpless when this tragedy starts.
ReplyDeleteYes Joanna, I agree, the fires and weird weather around the world, makes one wonder what's going to happen next. The feeling of being helpless is scary, but there are things we can all do to help no matter how small. If we cannot physically help, we can donate clothing, money, or simply listen an empathise.
DeleteBig hugs,
X