Aussie Readers discussion
Archives
>
Fire Check-In Thread
This posted by Glenda Guest:Sunday was horror day. Yesterday was very strange. From inside it looked like an autumn day with sea fog and drizzly rain, but walk outside and you breathe in smoke and moisture. So quiet, even with both service clubs filled with evacuees, who have now been told they can go home, with care. But there are way too many who now don't have homes and Eden people have still to be aware that the end of the week will probably be hot and windy again. As do we.
Doing something is needed to handle some situations and there's only a certain number of sudoku you can do - so I cooked all afternoon - some dying bananas were turned into banana bread; a droopy zucchini and a couple of leeks, from the last lot I pulled up a couple of weeks ago, were the base of a zucchini slice, the remaining leeks and 4 potatoes made potato and leek soup for dinner. A great anxiety-reliever, cooking.
I'm listening, now, to the ABC midday news. Seems the jackals and scavengers have moved in to the shire and are breaking in to empty houses. Extra police coming from Sydney. How very sad that that is necessary.
In this house we're doing ok. I've discovered what anxiety does to my body and how it can distort usual logical thinking. My go-to for anxiety is Bach Rescue Remedy (it got me through my undergrad degree as a mature-age student. A few drops in the water bottle worked wonders!) I went to the pharmacy - and it was sold out! Seems I'm not the only one to know its magic. Did get some elsewhere and am now stocked up.
For my interstate friends, if you want to see the extent of these fires download the Fires Near Me NSW App and use Merimbula as your base. The grey area from the Victoria border upwards is the area that burnt on Sunday.
Anyway, today it's time to clean up a bit and bring back a bit of normality. So I'm going now to do just that.
It must be a terrible situation for Glenda Guest to be surrounded by so much devastation and loss.Being just outside of Canberra, consider myself lucky, only having to contend with the heavy smoke. Here is a link to an interesting article about this.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-0...
Mod
There's so much heartbreak isn't there? So much change for people to deal with, and there's also the struggle for some who'll have to rebuild and recover.
Yes, it's all so difficult. We have an extra room in our house but we're a bit too far away to help anyone with it.
Absolutely shocking that some are looting. I have also read that the police have charged 24 people with arson. Someone should burn their home down in front of them - full of everything they own.
I just don't understand arsonists especially in this sort of extreme weather where lives are being lost, let alone properties and vast numbers of livestock and wild animals. Not sure there is any way to stop them.
Mod
This is such a great thread. Thinking of all those in areas affected by fire. I just pray for rain and everyones safety.
It's a time when we see both the very best, and the very worst in humanity. Fortunately, it's mostly the very best.
Mod
Only just finding this thread but man, these fires are not stopping any time soon are they. Very scary.I'm in the city in Melb so pretty safe, aside from the smoke which has my asthma playing up a bit but nothing too drastic.
Most of my family is in Canberra, staying in doors. They finally got a couple days with blue skies (as opposed to orange) so they made the most of them.
Also have family in Nowra and around the east coast area. A few evacuated to be safe but so far everyone is fine.
All of the money being raised is absolutely astounding, and every time I see big celebs bringing it to attention and non-Aussies supporting us I get a bit teary. It's really comforting to know there is support from people around the world.
Leonie wrote: "It's a time when we see both the very best, and the very worst in humanity. Fortunately, it's mostly the very best."So true
Was chatting to a number of my patients today who have properties north of the Kerry Ridge Fire. Due to the scale of this fire (and pretty well all the others), one of them has been told that it'll arrive in about two weeks, given the current rate of spread.Of course that depends on a whole pile of things. From chatting to people, the whole waiting game thing has really begun to play on peoples' minds.
Everyone here (Upper Hunter) is obsessed with rain. We've had a tiny bit, scattered all over the place. So while we only heard thunder and saw lightning on Wednesday, 20km away had 20mm. Obviously it's not nearly enough. In drought affected areas, we need persistent, regular rain.
Mod
On my pc there is a site which gives world wide weather.Mollymook on the east coast is expected to have some light rain about 3 a.m. Saturday and then some more light rain for longer periods as the week goes on. When it comes overnight, I suppose that is the best time for it to have a chance of laying before evaporating.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have the usual web address for me to send to you. It came with the pc when I bought it. Maybe some of you have it too. I tried to put a screen print in this little box - silly me - it didn't work. I expect there are many other ways of finding out if there is hope on the horizon.
Just found this thread. Thinking about you all from FNQ where, for once, we've not had any weather related issues (yet -- cyclone season starts about now).
Brenda wrote: "Apparently the situation is making some people depressed, others anxious (continually checking the fires) and as far as I see, it's understandable. Unprecedented has been bandied around a lot, but ..."I think it's really hard for people to distance themselves from it all. Australia has a small population, and to a certain extent it's hard not to know someone impacted.
And when you wake up most mornings to the smell of smoke, or it develops during the day, it's sort of front and centre. I think it's important to focus on a lot of the positives, and the ways in which we, as individuals, can make a difference. (Donation, cleaning up our own fire risks, joining up as volunteers, holidaying in impacted communities, remembering to spend money in communities devastated by fire.)
I agree most people know someone affected. Today Melbourne has the second worst air quality in the world 🌎 I'm indoors sewing and reading. I feel for those who have to be out in the conditions and especially the elderly, children and asthmatics.
We were in the Southern Highlands on the weekend and everyone there is pretty nervous with major fires both to the north and south converging on the area. The smoke was very thick and everything is covered in ash, as I imagine it must be in so much of the affected areas. There are so many little towns and rural properties in the Highlands and everyone we talked to knows someone who has already been affected and are waiting anxiously to see what the rest of the summer will bring. There has been a little rain but not nearly enough to make a difference if the weather turns hot and gusty again.
Everyone here is holding their breaths about the potential rain event beginning Thursday. Living in a rural community, it's the hot topic of conversation right now.People are looking at the forecast, but not wanting to hope too much just to be disappointed.
Carolyn wrote: "Fingers crossed Leonie!"eyes and toes too
Mod
I keep looking at the forecast, which keeps changing! Everyone here is sort of hopeful, but trying not to be too optimistic.
It's been bucketing down here in Melbourne for the past few hours so hoping the storm spreads out to where it's needed most!
Mod
Krystal wrote: "It's been bucketing down here in Melbourne for the past few hours so hoping the storm spreads out to where it's needed most!"Woohoo! Yes, let's hope for it to turn north.
Leonie wrote: "25mm here today! ⛈⛈⛈💧💧💧💦💦💦"Lovely :)
Mod
Mod
Hope you get some, Phrynne! We're hoping for more tomorrow. So far it's just enough to dampen the dust and reduce the smoke haze.
Lots of rain here started late afternoon, still going on and off, I hope it's falling on the fires too.
Mod
Light steady rain in my part of Sydney, since the middle of the night 🌧🌧🌧. Long may it rain!
Been raining all day long, and still the air smells smoky...
Mod
Just after I wrote that it went really dark and then it just poured buckets all morning! So refreshing:)
New England tablelands is getting some nice rain! For the first few showers the rain water was brown. I think it is getting clear now :))Happier times!
No real rain here today 😢. One brief shower, that was it. Hoping we get some more.
Mod
One of the results of the fires is I now have a family of kookaburras as neighbours. Even though they woke me up this morning, I do hope they stay.
When we hadn't had rain here for a while, a couple of king parrots came down from the nearby reserve looking for food and water. They didn't stay but it was lovely to see them.
Mod
We've been putting out food and water for several months now, as the birds here are struggling enormously, due to the drought.Consequently, every morning and evening, we have sulphur crested cockatoos, galahs, lorikeets, rosellas and sometimes musk lorikeets, king parrots and crimson rosellas. There's a family of willy wagtails who've made a home somewhere close by and now defend our backyard against all comers. The magpie larks are next door, and pop over for a drink, and the magpies mostly live out the front.
Our indoor cats enjoy watching what we refer to as 'bird TV' via the sliding doors onto the patio. 🤣🤣🤣
Mod
It's rather lovely, and since we have a native garden, they enjoy things when they're flowering too :)
Mod
Aussie Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
The Wicked Trade (other topics)Authors mentioned in this topic
Glenda Guest (other topics)Nathan Dylan Goodwin (other topics)
Nathan Dylan Goodwin (other topics)
Nathan Dylan Goodwin (other topics)
Nathan Dylan Goodwin (other topics)
More...
And in this morning's emails a friend from the west coast said:
"The north of WA in the Kimberley and Pilbara is expecting to have a cyclone cross the coast today. This will bring much needed rain in those areas. The cyclone is likely to track south east as it turns into a rain bearing depression. We will not receive any benefit from that but inland WA goldfields area may receive some rain and thence South Australia and Victoria may receive some benefit as well."
He's trying to cheer me up - I hope this cheers some of you, and I hope there'll be some rain left over for a change of direction to hit further up the east coast!!!
So good to see the fundraising going on in Kent, U.K. (where I live). Additionally, in my newspaper today, there was a letter to the Editor suggesting - very strongly - that some of our overseas aid budget be diverted to Australia. This will almost certainly get picked up and discussed by those who can actually get on and do this.