In addition to the hundreds of pumper trucks coming in and out of the Alexandra staging area, armoured personnel carriers are now part of the flotilla. These guys are serious. Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 – DAY ELEVEN Apparently we are not the only ones living out of our car…we pile our belongings into the car [...]
There are over 400 tents pitched at the showgrounds, with over 600 emergency workers sleeping in shifts. (And this is not the only base camp established in the area). That’s allotta fire fighting going on. Monday, February 16th: DAY TEN As we pull up to the DSE/CFA base camp in Alexandra for breakfast, I see [...]
A panorama of our smoky “stomping grounds” in Rubicon… Sunday, February 15th, 2009 – DAY NINE 8:00am Waking up in and living with smoke takes a toll over time. Your head constantly feels foggy, keeping headaches tenuously at bay. Your throat is raspy, sore, and dry, except for that little chunk of mucus in the [...]
Saturday, February 14th, 2009 – DAY EIGHT Happy Valentine’s Day! Love is in the air….or is that smoke? The situation at the relief donations warehouse is out of control. We receive countless truckloads of generous donations, and despite requests to the contrary, lots of it is still used. Gently used clothing is one thing; bleach [...]
Looking directly at the sun is no problem with the smoke as thick as it is. Sunday, February 10th, 2009 7:00am We receive a text message from Melbourne that they are getting heavy rains. They sadly have not come yet here in Mansfield or any other affected area. Taggerty held off the fires last night [...]
The air is heavy (but not humid) as I step outside from the cool respite of our practically-air-conditioned-it’s-so-cold cottage. I walk into the sunshine, and even at 3pm I immediately feel its rays burning through the first few layers of my skin. Even a breeze on this calm day is too much, creating a sense [...]
