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@badtmy
Dale, koalas evidently DO drink water in extreme circumstances, given the number of photos of them climbing out of trees and begging for drinks and jumping in buckets of water...
i've been in Melbourne for the last few weeks, hanging out and visiting family, and the day that the fires kicked off was fucking epic. it was the hottest day ever recorded in Melbourne, in 150 years of records, with temperatures of 46.4 in the CBD (in the shade) and approaching 50 in various parts of the state. Combine that with extremely high north-westerly winds (geography buffs and aussies will notice that this means winds that have blown across 3000km of desert) and coming off one of the worst droughts ever, means that it was pretty much the best/worst conditions for bushfires you could possibly imagine. I went outside briefly on Saturday afternoon, and it was like standing in a giant hairdryer, it was relentlessly hot and windy. I've never experienced anything like it, and i lived in Melbourne for 26 years.
when the fires started it was really an inevitability, because we get bushfires every summer and you kind of expect it. but this was by far the worst fires we've seen. there are stories of fireballs racing up hillshides and people having literally minutes between hearing there was a fire and having to escape through exploding trees. as to whether or not it was arsonists lighting fires, i don't know. there have been suggestions that the fires in Gippsland were deliberately lit, but not so much the ones in Kinglake/Whittlesea which have been the most deadly. Seriously all it would take to start a fire in those conditions would be a cigarette butt, a glass bottle lying on the grass, or a piece of metal reflecting sunlight onto something flammable. the whole state was basically a tinderbox sitting in an enormous pre-heated bellows. if it was arsonists, they'd better hope the police catch them, because if the community do they are fucked.
the reaction to the fires has been incredible, and i'm glad i was here to see the whole country pull together. people have donated a fuckton of money, time and stuff to help people who have lost everything. it's actually restored my faith in humanity a bit, seeing how generous people are in such a dark time. the blood bank was so overwhelmed with people who wanted to donate blood, i heard there was a waiting list 3 weeks long. that's pretty incredible considering they normally have a shortage of donors.
so yeah, it's been a massive fucking tragedy, i know people who have died or lost their houses, and people who have had very narrow misses, and it's intense. but it's also pulled the state and the country together in a way that sounds like a cliche, but is actually pretty fucking real and very moving.
it's going to be a headfuck coming back to London this weekend.