Be careful Ben, years ago when we had fires near us we had embers falling as well as ash, keep a hose handy just in case you need to make sure they're extinguished
Yeah, na. Fuck that shit. I was in the above ground Clark pool in 1983 in the place next to Cockatoo in 1983 when that shit went down. That’s why I now live on a damp hill in Lancashire, UK.
Thanks to all for their kind messages. We were packed and ready to go last night, but some amazing efforts by the firies and more moderate conditions have really helped today. Recent threat downgrades are a godsend
Spoke to some of the FFM firies getting coffee this morning. They’ve come all the way from Bairnsdale, 6 hours away. I was shocked at how young some are, in one case just out of high school. Off they drive to the fire front with a skinny flat in hand
i volunteer with nsw SES and we have a bimodal age distribution of new members: big peak ca 19-23 (mostly kids finishing school not sure what they want to do for careers) and another 32-36 (mostly parents, often mums, whose kids are old enough to take care of themselves)
When the wind drops, the muffled silence as ash falls like snow settling in a dirty white layer. Peace, but at what cost. The leaves and branches of trees, shrubs and insects, gone. Animals dying in the bush. Lyrebirds surviving fires in wombat burrows but returning to a world without food
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Keep safe and well.
Be safe over there!
There's an awful lot of bush on fire.