fire update
The fires are still burning and the death toll keeps rising. And it will keep rising as they find more bodies. So I have stopped updating my various posts to reflect the current information, because it's just too depressing.
I have been lucky. I have family scattered all over Victoria and none of them have been affected. The closest it got was to my cousin (who I'm gonna see tonight) - there were fires 1km away from where she's staying in Narre Warren (an outer suburb of Melbourne) and Elvis, the water-bombing helicopter, was filling up from their dam.
Just to illustrate how close the fires were (and still are) around Melbourne, beneath the cut is a screengrab of part of the Fire Map, as it is now, when I'm writing this (data is from the CFA).
I've annotated it for you! The purple star is roughly where I live (not Fitzroy, but I grew up in Fitzroy). I've circled Narre Warren (in the south-east). The green marks indicated where there are current "safe fires", red marks are fires that are still "going" (ie. burning and not yet controlled). We are safe in Melbourne, but fuck, that's close, not to mention extensive.
And here is the DSE map of the statewide fire situation (screengrab from this morning):
There are still fires in the North-East, including one burning out of control in Bruarong, which is not far from Yackandandah and Stanely (both towns I would like to, you know, SEE AGAIN). I am very attached to the North-East of Victoria: that's where Mt Beauty is and it's where I've spent a lot of time and I love it: the mountains, the bushland, the cute, old, country towns. So, BACK OFF FIRES! Don't make me come up there and SMACK YOU IN THE FACE!*
*(I don't advocate this as part of your fire plan. It is not the best way to fight fire. Also, fires don't have faces, right? *stares for a long time at Calcifer*)
I don't know how they estimate this kind of thing, but 10,000 native animals have fallen victim to the bushfire tragedy, according to wildlife experts in this article (warning: the accompanying picture might break your heart). So please consider donating to Wildlife Victoria.
The RSPCA is also providing emergency assistance to animals effected by the bushfires, including free veterinary care for pets and livestock who have been injured in the fires, as well as working to reunite lost pets with their families. So alternatively, if you want, you could donate to help them out.
There is also The Red Cross Bushfire Appeal, which I have linked to before. Or you could support the CFA (Country Fire Authority) who have done an amazing job during this whole thing.
I have been lucky. I have family scattered all over Victoria and none of them have been affected. The closest it got was to my cousin (who I'm gonna see tonight) - there were fires 1km away from where she's staying in Narre Warren (an outer suburb of Melbourne) and Elvis, the water-bombing helicopter, was filling up from their dam.
Just to illustrate how close the fires were (and still are) around Melbourne, beneath the cut is a screengrab of part of the Fire Map, as it is now, when I'm writing this (data is from the CFA).
I've annotated it for you! The purple star is roughly where I live (not Fitzroy, but I grew up in Fitzroy). I've circled Narre Warren (in the south-east). The green marks indicated where there are current "safe fires", red marks are fires that are still "going" (ie. burning and not yet controlled). We are safe in Melbourne, but fuck, that's close, not to mention extensive.
And here is the DSE map of the statewide fire situation (screengrab from this morning):
There are still fires in the North-East, including one burning out of control in Bruarong, which is not far from Yackandandah and Stanely (both towns I would like to, you know, SEE AGAIN). I am very attached to the North-East of Victoria: that's where Mt Beauty is and it's where I've spent a lot of time and I love it: the mountains, the bushland, the cute, old, country towns. So, BACK OFF FIRES! Don't make me come up there and SMACK YOU IN THE FACE!*
*(I don't advocate this as part of your fire plan. It is not the best way to fight fire. Also, fires don't have faces, right? *stares for a long time at Calcifer*)
I don't know how they estimate this kind of thing, but 10,000 native animals have fallen victim to the bushfire tragedy, according to wildlife experts in this article (warning: the accompanying picture might break your heart). So please consider donating to Wildlife Victoria.
The RSPCA is also providing emergency assistance to animals effected by the bushfires, including free veterinary care for pets and livestock who have been injured in the fires, as well as working to reunite lost pets with their families. So alternatively, if you want, you could donate to help them out.
There is also The Red Cross Bushfire Appeal, which I have linked to before. Or you could support the CFA (Country Fire Authority) who have done an amazing job during this whole thing.