Its been a dreadful day in Australia for bushfires. I was quite bemused when I happened to go past the tele which Don had on (he was alseep...so I won my $20 bet with him) and there was some sort of international racing event on at Phillip Island in Victoria and they were apologising or explaining to "International" viewers about the haze on the track being from bushfires...and I wondered at the ingongruity of this big crow of fellas mainly and brave racing drivers "melting" in their souped up cars...
and the harsh and brutal reality that only miles away people were fighting for their lives and homes...volunteer firefighters men and women were out there exhausted fighting to help others they did not know, risking their lives...a few of these seem to die horribly every summer here...

and I wondered how people could justignore this stuff because maybe (and how could they be sure) it wasn't a fire in theor street, and it wasn't their brother or sister fighting that fire.

We live a few miles out of town..hundreds of miles from Victoria. In our little street the Rural fire volunteers held a meeting and showed us how to save our homes and lives should a fire come. I know what to do and would choose to stay with the house... (after making sure Don was out and safe)...its only the houses that are empty and whose owners don't know what to do which burn...a bushfire passes quickly and it is the embers in the gutters, and cracked glass windows etc which let sparks in...if you stay and enclose the house 9draw all curtains, fill up bathtubs sinks etc etc... and have your gitters filled with water (foam or a tennis ball down the downpipe works a treat and a metal bucket and mop for putting out embers - because the power goes down in a fire, and for those of us in rural areas on a water pump system that means no water...) the mop will put out embers which catch hold after the fire passes...most homes can be saved this way...

As far as I am concerned the wimps are in the race cars and at the track while the real heroes are five miles away fighting to save what they can of other's property.

A bit of a rant but it makes me bloody mad it does!