4 comments for “Australian fires”

  1. Hi Kathleen,

    Thanks for the enquiry.

    As far as I know everyone is okay apart from the fact that we can’t breathe.

    https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-01/smoke-shrouds-australia-as-nsw-bushfires-continue/11835734

    We are in a record drought. The temperate rainforests have dried out and are now literally going up in smoke. The fires have been going on for weeks.

    (The decision of a US baseball player to go home was undoubtedly the right one. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-23/bushfire-smoke-forces-us-baseball-star-to-quit-canberra-team/11822936)

    So far, apart from air quality, Canberra is okay. But it is known as the bush capital. The lack of rain and record temperatures means we remain anxious.

    It was a catastrophic daffodil season in Yass with virtually no rain. There is going to be little or nothing to see there this coming season.

    Wishing everyone all the best for the New Year.

  2. To give an idea of what is happening in Australia. Christchurch is just over 1200miles South East of Sydney. Today a north west wind has blown across the Tasman Sea. Our sun has been obscured by smoke all day. Tonight the sky is a yellowish colour  and there is an eerie colour in the trees around our house. Some places report ash dust on their washing.

    A couple of years ago, in similar circumstances, I was flying to Sydney. About 15 minutes away from Australia the pilot came on and apologized for the smell of smoke in the aircraft cabin and explained that it came from the outside atmosphere.

    Terrifying times for the people of Australia.  My niece was a psychiatric nurse in Canberra some years ago when 500 homes were burnt in the city. She told me that studies show that the real mental traumas occur about 7 years after the event. That certainly proved correct after our earthquakes. Indeed there are still people suffering ten years later. New South Wales,Victoria and the ACT have a long time of PTSD and related illnesses to come and healing will take much patience.

  4. So very sorry for the loss of homes, habitat and lives and for the terrible air quality.

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