Monday, February 9, 2009

The fires

The Victorian bushfires are dominating the news coverage at the moment. Living in metropolitan Melbourne, it's hard to imagine the carnage taking place elsewhere since there were no signs of smoke in the actual city itself. Only heat and wind. Incredible wind.

The feeling of disconnection is such a contrast to my experience of the Canberra fires a few years ago. I still remember driving home in the afternoon after spending the morning with a couple of Belgian friends. The sky grew darker and darker as I headed south. There was a red glow in the horizon and ash was raining down everywhere. We were several kilometers away from the fire front but it was still scary. With the Victorian fires, I see the footage and I hear the stories but it still seems a million miles away.

1 comment:

K said...

My bf was just there on the weekend and he said you can feel the fire in the wind.

It must be quite scary and surreal with being so close to the fire front and hearing all the news coverage and stories.