It’s that time of year when Australians get worried about every little spark out in the open and when some idiots light fires for the thrill of it. That time of year when the people outside of suburban capital cities worry for their lives, livestock, farms and houses. That time of year when the CFA (Country Fire Authority) comes into its own and works like you wouldn’t believe to keep as many people (and everything else) as safe as they possibly can.

Fire is an interesting phenonenom and when it’s contained in a fireplace it’s wonderful as we can then cook with it or warm ourselves up or just sit and mesmerise ourselves with the flames. When it’s out in the open it is absolutely terrifying and I say this with very little direct exposure to fire in the wild. I watched Ash Wednesday from my home in inner suburbia and I watched in horror as 75 people died across Victoria and South Australia as a direct result of those fires. So many houses and farms were destroyed, it was unbelievable and we sat in our homes watching soot come to town. Ash Wednesday was the 16th February 1983.

I recall Black Saturday even more as 2009 was far more recent. My family was still mourning the loss of my Step-Dad a couple of weeks prior, the weather was horrible with temperatures reaching 47.5 degrees Celsius in Melbourne, heat I don’t recall experiencing before, the winds were incredibly strong and it felt like being in an oven. 173 people during those fires with a corresponding loss of houses, stock, farms and wildlife. We heard amazing stories of men standing on their roofs in thongs (flip flops or jandals) saving their homes with bottles of soft drink. It gave rise to videos such as this one (pay attention from about 45 seconds):

With the advent of the internet, social media and cameras in phones we’re getting far more information than ever before about the fires, where they are and what we can do to keep ourselves safe. This means we can see a map on our computers/phones about where the fires are, drilling down to get more details as needed. The link I’ve given you shows Victoria with clickable links to show you how bad things are.

With this map I can see how close the fires are to family and friends. I can see cousins in Belgrave are okay as the closest fires are in Warburton where some friends had a picnic a few days ago, there are several fires in and around Warburton. I can see Gisborne, where I was only about a week and a half ago doing a market, has several fires. A few days ago a friend mentioned on Facebook about her family, the fire was only about 3.3 km from their house, they would have been able to see the flames from there except they’d already evacuated.

I’m tucked up in my home, safe and sound. My house is closed up as the smoke has hit Melbourne, every time I step outside I start being short of breath. I count my blessings and feel for those who live much closer to the firing line, those who have health problems, those with respiratory problems, in fact, everyone affected by the fires. These fires will bring back memories of previous fires and make it hard for those who have either moved away from danger zones or are still in danger zones.

Kudos to those who put their lives on the line to protect others!