Anyone you know in trouble from the Australian fires?
I check the news every day, hoping the fires will be under control. But even though things are a little better, the stories are still warning people not to let their guard down yet. I've checked with some friends, one said the fires came close and her area was on alert for a couple days. A couple know people who have died, but not directly, friends of relatives. I also feel bad for all the wildlife, everything in the path for the fire, no escape from the inferno. It's terrible. I hope the people you love are safe.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090210/wl_afp/australiaweatherfirestoll
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090210/ts_nm/us_australia_fires
My mother was afraid of fire more than most people, because she saw a chicken coop burn to the ground when she was a little girl. She also had relatives who survived the Peshtigo Fire of 1871, perhaps she was fascinated with that part of her family history because of her own fear of fire. The fire happened the same night as the famous Chicago fire, although the one in the Peshtigo area of northern Wisconsin took hundreds more lives--estimated between 1200 and 2400. My mother took us to the Peshtigo museum when I was little. The museum had displays talking about what it was like for those who lived through it, staying in the river hoping it would end, how the air itself seemed to be on fire.
Link to donate to the Australian Red Cross
https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp