I’ve already had great news this New Year.

Do you think that my heading for this thread was a little misleading?
It doesn’t mention the fires at all and seems a bit ‘light’ do you think that there are many more on GN who may be affected and would join in with information if it was a bit more obvious what we are discussing?
I was just sooo relieved when I heard from Aus that I didn’t give much thought to the title.

It is great news for you but perhaps GNHQ would change the heading if you wish.

It was a relief for us but it's early days so far.

Yes Pamela I came on looking for good news and found you are all worried sick.
I am very glad your family has escaped the worst but it's relentless and with intense heat and no proper rain forecast.
We were in Melbourne a few years ago during a heatwave. I wasn't expecting such heat there. We went to St Kilda to cool ourselves in the sea.

My brother-in-law lives in a Canberra suburb. He says it is hideously hot and smoky, but they are safe so far. They also have a holiday house (built of wood!) in Lawson in the Blue Mountains, but although the Blue Mountains have been mentioned in fire reports he doesn’t seem overly worried yet.

I remember seeing bush fires in the Sydney area, in the distance, flaring up and dying down.. They seemed to take it for granted that there would be some. Not like the current ones, though.

Last year California and now Australia. Such human devestation, I can not imagine what it must be like to loose everything.
Once the fires are over what then? Houses and belongings gone and the area ruined.

I wrote to a woman who lost her house in Paradise California and she was a broken woman. She knew she should be grateful for being alive but she was traumatised and found it so hard to recover.

The rains can not come soon enough. Heartfelt sympathy to all involved.

It's comforting to hear from other worried families. My DS and his family are in the Sydney suburbs and air quality has been bad for weeks. They cannot let their sons play outside for too long and schools and nurseries have been restricting outdoor activities. They went further south down the coast for a Summer holiday but had to cut it short because of fire threats. It is concerning what the long term health implications will be and as for the people who have lost homes, pets and loved ones, my heart goes out to them.

My son,wife and two darling granddaughters live in NSW..thankfully nearer to Byron bay..but they can smell the smoke...its a horrendous, terrifying situation and my heart goes out to everyone affected...praying for rain...so sad....

We have heard from all our friends in Oz now and thank god all safe though one group has been evacuated twice. Awful. Just awful. But they are a resilient lot and will get through.

BiL in Wangaratta, Victoria and has been told to pack his car, get fuel and be ready to go. We’re very worried.

I lived in South Australia in the 60s and we had bad bush fires in the summers but not almost all over the country at once. I always had a suitcase filled with all the important things ready to be grabbed if told to get out.
Here is Portugal we hundreds of thousands hectares of forest lost every year due to fires and what is so awful is that many fires are deliberately set as they have been in Australia. That's something I will understand. I am glad that posters are getting some mainly positive news from their families there.

My heart goes out to the Aussies who are affected by the horrific fires, I can’t imagine what it must be like.
I am in New Zealand and yes we have hazy days and red sunsets some of the time, it is quite dramatic. The fires are for the most part caused by natural phenomenon, often lightning.
I hope all of you hear good news from your relations.

Some have lost their livelihood as well as their homes.

Thousands of animals have been unable to escape but I have seen a YouTube video of a woman who is running a hospital for koalas; although there are many volunteers she cannot treat more than 50 at a time but other wildlife sanctuaries are taking those she cannot cope with.

Apparently the indigenous peoples used to build creating firebrand as they understood about heat,fire and wind. Concentration of populations has lost these habits. No consolation for all those affected by the current disaster. Just awful. Do hope those Gnets' families are all safe.

I have tried to change the title. It may work.

The fires are simply terrifying to watch. I can't imagine what it's like to be living in the affected areas.
Getting them under control doesn't sound remotely possible.
The Australian PM looks to be heading for another job.

The only positive I can take is that global warming is increasingly difficult to deny.

The PM and government need to listen to the Aboriginal peoples; many rural folk tried to follow the same practices but the Government disagrees with those methods.
The PM is not at all respected.

Well, there we have it:
It has been reported on the news today that the 3 year old ban on back burning has exacerbated this and caused the fires to spread uncontrollably.

This is something that Aboriginal and rural people have known and advocated but have been overruled by those who do not know best.

Perhaps the government may start to listen to the voices of reason and experience.

It is beyond a disaster.

PamelaJ1 You mentioned your family were up a No Exit road - how would they get out if they wanted to?

Do they have any communication with the outside world at all?
If not, you could alert the authorities to their plight and ask if they can be airlifted/trucked/tractored out if you were seriously concerned.

Hope all of your loved ones and their homes continue to stay safe. The situation is horrible for people and wildlife alike. We just finished with another awful fire season here in my beautiful California just in time for Australia's to start. It has become the new "norm" over the past several years. Makes me sad year-round these days...

I do so hope that those of you with families in Australia find they are safe and still have their homes. I have been worried about a dear friend who has her parents visiting after not seeing them for 2 years. She has had a terrible time since emigrating mostly due to her ex who has since abandoned her and has just started to get her life back on track with a lovely new partner and is at last happy. I am praying that she is not going to be one of the unlucky ones though I know she is on the edge of the danger areas. Like many others among you I dread hearing the news about the fires.

Dear PamelaJ1
For what it's worth, I wouldn't worry about the title of your post. Any good news is gratefully received, I am in the Blue Mountains in NSW and there is so much pain in the media, it is lovely to hear that anyone is okay.

Bradfordlass- she is safely back in Sydney now.

They weren’t alone, the whole of Sussex Inlet and that includes there little hamlet have only one road to the main highway.
Both the main highway and the access road were closed.
As has been seen on the news that is common in Australia.
That’s why so many people have been trapped.
There are 3 ways to get out of the small village that I live in.

PamelaJ1 Thank you for the update [smille] - I think I may be almost as relieved as you!!

Thank you Bradfordlass.

So many poor,poor people dealing with this terrible fire.
The bit that I saw on the news this morning were showing a fire engine almost touching the flames.
Those men and women are above brave.

There seems to be rising anger against the politicians.
Their recent policies have made the situation far worse according to many people.