I am watching all the fires you are experiencing in Australia. Please stay safe, don't hesitate to evacuate. As a Californian I know how devasting these fires can be. My thoughts are with you all.

 

I spent a week with my family in San Francisco during November 2018 and I recall the smell of smoke, having to wear masks etc.

These Australian bushfires seem to be off the chart in terms of their area coverage and ferocity. I was shocked to see photos of families huddled on the beach under a red menacing sky, almost Dunkirk like, waiting for evacuation. I hope a change in the weather can bring some respite ASAP. Amazing to see the heroic effort of the fire crews to keep on battling day and night against such a brutal force of nature.

Wishing all the best to the OF members in Australia, your families and friends.

 

We have been keeping in close contact with my wife’s family...so far no real risk for them but as the fires keep moving and expanding, they get closer...

 

I hope the all remain clear of the fire. We live near-ish to Paradise, CA that was almost completely destroyed. Some people went to bed thinking the fire was near, but not close enough yet to evacuate, and they were burned up before anyone could warn them. It is so sad and terrifying to even think about it.

 

I have former colleagues with farms down there. Gotta reach out to them.

 

Sending my best from south Texas. Fires are nothing to take lightly. I wish y’all the best and hope for them to be contained soon. Be safe out there gents.

 

Fires have been going since September 2019 with well over 50 major fires burning around the country at the moment.

Where's the rain when you need it!

 

And we have three months of hot dry weather ahead of us, which is truly scary. If there is little prospect of rain, what will be left to burn?

 

I live in Northern NSW, We were evacuated in September. 48 hours of uncertainty. A 40 meter high 50 km wide firefront was 100 meters from my front door. The fireys saved our tiny village, helped by the forecasted Southerly change arriving 3 hours later than expected, allowing a backburn window that saved us all.
The film clip of the 737 dropping bright pink fire retardant across backyards that was doing the international media rounds was taken from my mate's house around the corner. Our wee village was painted pink.

Our village was completely unscathed. Friends who live a few Ks north were not so lucky, they have lost everything. My son's girlfriend lost horses, cattle, farm buildngs and the house balcony.

Friends who run cattle in the area were fighting spot fires (that had jumped 2ks ahead of the front) with farm equipment & had a light aircraft dump a load of water on their heads, saving their farm. The guy who piloted the plane lost his house to the same fire.

We have been dealing with these fires since early September, but now all of our bush has burned, there is no fuel left so even though we have been surrounded by fire we are safe now.

My heart goes out to those on the southern east coast - the situation is as bad as it gets down there. news just broke of two people who died in their car attempting to drive out on the highway.

An absolutely horrific situation. How do you thank volunteers who battled to save your home? A terribly humbling experience.

 

Scary stuff.

 

News reporting so many deaths of animals: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/aus...-billion-animals-killed-as-crisis-mounts.html

Stay safe all!

 

This article may be of help as folks look towards recovery

http://www.cbc.ca/1.5172989

...Clinical psychologist talks about how people recover from losing everything they own to flames.

 

Amazing indeed, in I saw the aftermath of the fires in February-March 2013 as I visited Australia's astronomical observatories to check out comet C2013-A which had a little chance to impact the planet Mars... As I was there, Scottish-Australian astronomer/comet-hunter Robert McNaught had just discovered comet C2013-E1...
The Siding Spring observatory, at 1170 m altitude in the Warrumbungle national park, narrowly escaped the worst fires, most telescopes undamaged
Stay safe people !!!
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Siding Spring observatory before & after the 2013 bush fires... 1.3m Skymapper and 2.3m Advanced Tech Telescope at horizon
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Melted plastic camera dome near sliding roof of the 0.5 m Automatic PAtrol Telescope, with the large 3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope dome in the background (meanwhile renamed under Australian National University) )

 

Definitely has not been a good couple of weeks in Canberra. Smoke has settled everywhere and it's gotten to the point of coming inside the house. I taped every conceivable window and door but it is still finding a way in. Only room without the smell is my son's room, so we will all be bunking there for a bit. Our air purifier/filter has been on overdrive since this afternoon, when the smoke haze came back.

I know a whole lot of other places have it much worse, and my heart and prayers go out to those communities. Like others have said, this is going to be a bad few months...

 

I am from the Netherlands. One of my kids is going for an internship to Australia, NewCasle area and these fires are getting bloody close. I hope for everybody over there that the seasonal change brings some solution.