More on Australian Bushfires

Firstly, after re-reading my post of a few days ago I got a bit worried that some peole may have the impression that I was directly involved with the fires. We live up in Queensland, well away from the affected areas and are fine. I do have two aunts and five cousins in Melbourne and they are all OK. I know that your thoughts and prayers are with the victims. The news is a bit better as the latter half of the week has been cooler meaning the firefighters are starting to get on top of it. There are no towns in danger at the moment but they are worrid that if the weather heats up the fires will flare up again. There are over 2800 firefighters on the job. Most of them have been working almost non stop for a week. Thankfully not one has been lost. The death toll has remanied the same but there are still 80 people missing and bodies still to be identified. This is now the worst natural disaster in Auatralian history. The survivors have been housed in makshift camps organised by the Red Cross and assisted by the Salvation Army and the St. Vincient de Paul Society. Donations of money, food and cloths continue to pour in. It appears that for the most part, the banks, insurance compainies and govt have been helpful and sympathetic. There have been many reports of heroism and tragedy. One man, dressed only in shorts and shirt, fought to save a building where a number of people were sheltering, by climbing on the roof and putting out flames with buckets of water. Understandably there have been scenes of distresed people combing through the ruins of their houses but there are also pictures in todays papers of people hugging each other and raising a smile, just happy to be alive. Yesterday police arrested and charged a 39 year old man with lighting one of the fires. He is being held in custody for his own protection. Sorry to here news of freezes and floods over there. Hope you are all OK and my thoughts are with you.

i realize queensland is a big place, but i served with a guy who was in the australian army during the iraq war and he said he had a bar in Queensland, i didnt get specifics from him of where exactly it was, but he took one of my fire fighter uniforms and said he was gonna put it up in his bar.

dont suppose you know the place?

Afraid not Darren. Like most true Queenslanders I only drink in pubs. If I do run across your uniform I'll let you know.

I am a firefighter in California, and we have had some massive wildland fires. We used to have a fire season but now they seem to go all year long. I will not blame global warming while on this site but it is proven that winters come later, are shorter and don't get as cold as before. Oppertunistic diseases are killing trees at higher elevations providing much fuel to burn. Anyway, you have my most heartfelt empathy. Even during the Oakland fire we never had fatalities like what you have. Wish there was some mutual aid agreement and we could send some units. God bless you all.

Glad you and your's are ok.

Dave