No Cally I have not seen anything like that but once fighting a fire at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains the forest floor became alive with Huntsmen that ran all over us in their panic to escape luckily we were young and not a single heart attack but many a pounding pulse.

The temperature has dropped massively here down to the low twenties., We have had the high forties.

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As I remotely watch the Australian fires engulf and consume chunks of territory, I am overwhelmed by my inability to fathom the tragedy taking place. Unable to imagine the ripple effect of it all. Unable to comprehend the magnitude of it, vis-a-vis the role climate change plays. I gasp at the thought of the animal life ravaged. My own soul feels on fire. Truthfully, I am helpless.
I have not the time nor money to appease my remorse. And it’s just not Australia. I weep for the world. I go about my day. I laugh. I consider the little things that are right and good around me. I keep my doors and windows open. Yet under it all the gloom forbids my heart light, my soul to soar like it should. So be it.

I’ve been tracking the fires on Google Earth and found myself at times becoming/sidetracked by the beauty of the photographs posted of the natural landscape, now under siege. My heart.
To you Cally, Jan, and all those in distress, bless you.
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This is the most detailed news I've seen. Thank you all. I am grieving over the bats, & hoping the world will get some sanity about its climate problem.

Cally, how is the air down there in Tassie?

I've never seen haze like this in Melbourne before - it is unbearable. Almost every day is smoky, hazy, making it dangerous to spend long amounts of time outside - especially for asthma sufferers like me.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-...smoke/11865178

I can never remember it this bad for this long - and I can remember the Ash Wednesday fires in '83 (just a kid), the '97 fires and the 2009 Black Saturday fires.

Scary times. We have some close friends up in the Alpines (Harrietville), so this all hits home in a big way. Fingers crossed the worst is over.

NASA: Smoke from Australia fires will travel 'around the globe'
by Tim Pearce | January 14, 2020 03:20 PM

Wildfires in Australia are producing so much smoke that their plumes are expected to travel across the world.

NASA released satellite images and models last week showing how massive amounts of smoke from Australia’s wildfires were affecting Earth’s atmosphere. The clouds of smoke, ash, and soot are so thick in regions they are forming their own thunderstorms.

“The smoke is expected to make at least one full circuit around the globe, returning once again to the skies over Australia,” said Colin Seftor and Rob Gutro of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

The smoke clouds are causing environmental problems in other parts of the world. The smoke has worsened air quality in New Zealand, “causing severe air quality issues across the county and visibly darkening mountaintop snow.”

The fires have covered more than 12 million acres, killing dozens of people. Estimates of animal deaths range into the millions. University of Sydney professor Chris Dickman estimates that a half-billion animals may die as a result of the current spate of wildfires.

Australian authorities have arrested dozens of people suspected of intentionally starting brush fires across the country. The alleged arsonists may face charges of manslaughter and other crimes.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/n...ound-the-globe

Do watch this!

He's really caught how we're feeling, what we're all talking about. This place has never been more beautiful to me (and it's always been the most beautiful place on earth!). I was an ex-pat for 10 years, and it is so very hard to be an Australian not in Australia.

Damian, I'm very distressed by your distress. I know, I know. We had the smoke in Tassie this time last year when the southwest wilderness was burning across the river from us. Smoke so thick for a fortnight that on some days you couldn't see your hand at the end of your outstretched arm. The last few days have been crystal clear and glorious here, but today the smoke haze is back. I suspect this pattern will go on for all of summer.

Melbourne, dear Melbourne, sounds in bad shape. The smoke is so unhealthy. After our experience last year, we bought an air conditioner, not for temperature regulation, but to help clean the air inside the house. I'm not an air conditioner kind of person. At all. But I can't be caught in that kind of smoke again. It's the worst I've ever felt, and I can't bear thinking of all the mainlanders breathing it right now. It creates a kind of depression over everyone, like a grey blanket over the spirit. It feels alien. Everything feels alien. I'm waiting to see how they're going to handle the Australian Open.

Yes, the bush has always burned. I nearly died, with my sister, in the great bushfire of 1967 when the whole of Tasmania burned -- 62 dead, 7000 homeless. And we lost a place near Marysville on Black Saturday. Terrifying. But it's the sheer size and tenacity of this one that makes it different. And just think -- our hottest times are usually Feb. March, and often right up to the Easter break!

Stay inside, Damian. Spend time in air-conditioned spaces. I can't believe that I, an air-conditioning despiser, am actually writing those words.

I watched and listened to that poem, Cally, and strongly felt the emotion of it. If I had been reading it aloud, I might very well have cried, too.

Yes, Martin -- it's palpable emotion, isn't it? It's so honest.

Are you hearing about this overseas? The food drops for wildlife? Can you read this link? https://www.smh.com.au/environment/c...12-p53qss.html

I am glad you posted that Cally it came from his heart.

I am wholeheartedly sick of the politics when Blind Freddy can see what is wrong.

There is something about Australia she grows through your feet and you become her. This hurts.

Thanks, Cally, for posting that link about people dropping food for the animals. Here is something kind of disturbing:

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2...ation-backlash