Fires

We went to the dentist today. Driving through the bushland and farms, the gum trees were surrounded by dropped bark and limbs, like every summer; most of the open farmland was scorched yellow with the occasional irrigated paddock a magnificent green. All I could think about was the black tangled mess left by the the fires in the hilly forests north of Melbourne, the fires roaring through the beautiful ferny valleys of central Gippsland, and all the animals I spotted - from the ibis to the echinda to the horses to the cows - burnt into black, dead lumps.

The fires are still burning. Homes and lives are still in danger, more than 181 people are dead. Hundreds of thousands of animals will be dead or too severely injured to survive. The response from the Australian public, government and businesses is amazing - I saw people standing in the drizzling rain this morning, waiting to fill the second of two enormous semi-trailers with donated goods - but all I can think about is the death. The trees will recover - my area was burned out in 1983 - but so many people are dead, in such small and close-knit communities just like mine. The "stay or go" bushfire plan that has been the status quo for so long, saving lives, is in question - many people north of Melbourne left early but were overtaken by 120km/h fires; others were well-prepared to defend but were overwhelmed - and I can't see any other choices right now.

Yes, we have our fire plan ready. But I always trusted "stay or go". No, our town is not under threat. But it's now the only non-desert area of the state that hasn't burned since Ash Wednesday, 1983. All my family and friends are safe. But there's not many people who can say that right now.

Stay safe, all of you. Donate to the Red Cross if you can.