Fire and Devastation!

Sadly, it's been a horror couple of days in the state of Victoria. We had a 47 degree centigrade day yesterday, coupled with high winds. There were warnings from the authorities that there was a high risk of bushfires, as conditions would be similar to the devastating Ash Wednesday fires in 1983. Unfortunately, the warnings came true and the fires have been even worse than those Ash Wednesday ones!

This morning's death count was 14, but, as of 10pm tonight the count has risen to 84 and will rise further as many are still missing. Whole towns have been razed by fires, the scenes we are getting from the media resemble war zones. We are safe where we live in Melbourne, but we have relatives living in the fire zones (luckily they are safe), and friends that we just don't know about yet! My hubby knows that one of his friends hasn't been able to find out whether his wife and daughters escaped the fires......but it doesn't sound too good.

My home town of Bendigo in Central Victoria has had massive property damage too, I was really concerned for my Dad! He told me the flames were visible from his home and he could hear the roar of the fire....luckily, the wind changed direction in time and he was safe.

Today is much cooler and less windy, but there are still some fires burning out of control. This kind of thing makes you put things in perspective and realise what is important in life. Possessions can always be replaced, but lives, especially loved ones, cannot!