Today we possibly had another taste of what is to come with gusty winds
up to 100 kph and temperatures in excess of 40 degrees. Nearby a grass fire in
the morning quickly got out of control and ended up as a bush fire. Residents
were warned it was too late to leave and to shelter inside. This is a poem I composed.
Victoria’s Fiery Summer
Melbourne awakens to an eerie
new day
Fiery red Sun through smoky grey haze
Feels like evening when sun seeks its rest
Dust of a landscape only rain can suppress
Bush fires in our country unlike any other
Fed by a drought of endless dry summers
Dry fuel and air so soil has no moisture.
Fight fires in vain, best just to contain her
Melancholy thoughts of dim days of our past
Black Friday and Ash Wednesday I pray be our last
Volunteer fire fighters can’t see through the smoke
Brave and determined they’re just ordinary blokes
Smoky conditions drag on with the drought
Summer continues as towns wait in fear
Fiery red Sun through smoky grey haze
Feels like evening when sun seeks its rest
Dust of a landscape only rain can suppress
Bush fires in our country unlike any other
Fed by a drought of endless dry summers
Dry fuel and air so soil has no moisture.
Fight fires in vain, best just to contain her
Melancholy thoughts of dim days of our past
Black Friday and Ash Wednesday I pray be our last
Volunteer fire fighters can’t see through the smoke
Brave and determined they’re just ordinary blokes
Smoky conditions drag on with the drought
Summer continues as towns wait in fear
Ready to flee from the fire
alerts
Praying for rain, to quench her dry heart
Praying for rain, to quench her dry heart
6 comments:
Hi Lindsay,
A terrifying spectacle, indeed. And the loss of life and habitat is tragic. I have in-laws in Brownsville, a little south of Sydney. They are anxiously waiting to see whether two great arcs of fire will meet and cut the Sydney area off from the rest of NSW.
I see that your Prime Minister is not going to change policy on coal production, even though it is a contributing factor. And I thought Mr. Trump was dim. So glad I no longer work for a coal industry.
Throughout this ongoing tragedy I've thought of you and your beautiful country often. I too hope for rain and better policies in the long term.
How lovely to see you're still around, Susan. Happy New Year to you and yours.
Hi Tom & Susan,
The sheer magnitude of the fires is hard to imagine with the worst state NSW losing well over 700 homes so far. There are currently about 100 fires with accompanying smoke plumes reaching up to 9 kilometers into the sky. Many communities are cut off.
The fires are also creating their own weather conditions with tragic results.
In Albury a young fire fighter was killed when the resultant fire related tornado lifted up the 10 tonne fire truck and flipped it on its roof.
Many holidaymakers have become stranded as we just this moment got news of friends held up in Ulladulla whose campsite further on was hurriedly evacuated.
I am very familiar with the South coast area you mention Tom, as we lived in the south of Sydney for over 20 years before migrating to Melbourne in the early eighties.
Even then there was the ever present threat of bush fires, but in the last decade or so things have got a lot worse.
I grew up further north residing in the coastal town of Coff's Harbour, not far away from areas around Taree and Kempsey, where some farms enjoyed a plentiful water supply unaffected by drought, from streams, for the past 100 years, but are now bone dry.
In Victoria the big fires in Gippsland have been burning since November alongside another 20 or so with recent farther additions in the alpine areas arising from lighting strikes. The conditions can only get worse unless we have some solid rain.
Over 37,000 holiday makers were asked to go home, but many stayed. About 4000 people took to the lakes and the oceans. seeking refuge. So far the fire fighters have done a magnificent job protecting many towns and properties with some paying the ultimate price. The government’s reaction has been to offer up to $6,000 to reimburse firefighters away from paid work for 4 weeks or more in NSW and QLD or $300 per day. But more needs to be done, as the PM has confirmed the use of the armed services to help with evacuation. Even so many communities remain stranded.
Unfortunately if we had Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister our energy and environmental policies would have been much more sensible. As far as coal is concerned all of Australia’s big banks refuse to support any investment or support for coal whats ever along with our insurance and other leading service providers.
Susan, let’s hope there are better policies next year.
Best wishes for the New Year.
I've seen pictures and have watched some videos of the beach town where so many have been stranded. It's a terrifying sight and simply unbelievably tragic. People, homes, animals and the air and water all affected - never mind the cost of cleanup once the time comes to do that.
I've read some of Malcolm Turnbull's thoughts and he's right that it's necessary for the government to coordinate a national response to bushfire emergencies. Better still, getting a handle on the long term situation with more sensible forestry and land use practices would be most helpful. The Aboriginal people and the permaculturists would be happy to lend their expertise to helping solve the problems caused by decades of neglect and greed.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for Australia and all of us.
All best wishes 💕
Hi Tom, It's good to see you again too.
Best wishes for your New Year.
May we meet again one day soon. :)
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