Today Sue and I travelled to the Latrobe Valley where the local cycling club held a combined clubs track race meeting at their Velodrome. The winds were intense with temperatures reach the very high 30s (39 actually). The whole state was on bushfire alert. During the lunch time break I returned to the track for the afternoon session and heard fire trucks and an unusual amount of traffic passing by where normally in this regional town it would be traffic free on a Sunday. Looking into the distance there were great plumes of smoke such as shown below.
Traffic had been diverted from the main highway a few kilometres up the road and by the velodrome. After the meeting was over and the car was packed we drove further down the highway to Melbourne where we could see more plumes of smoke rising from the Baw Baw Ranges to the north of us, but many kilometres in the distance. Traffic coming up from Melbourne was stopped by the local police and being diverted from the direct we had come.
We knew that conditions of the day with high northerly winds with high 30 degree temperatures would be a day of high alert. Fortunately so far there have been no fatalities however some people have lost their homes.
Living in a big city like Melbourne, we live in a cocoon shielded from the realities of bush fires. Today we saw them at closer quarters than the 6.00 news.
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| Courtesy of ABC News |
We knew that conditions of the day with high northerly winds with high 30 degree temperatures would be a day of high alert. Fortunately so far there have been no fatalities however some people have lost their homes.
Living in a big city like Melbourne, we live in a cocoon shielded from the realities of bush fires. Today we saw them at closer quarters than the 6.00 news.
Not good, with all the heat you have had I guess they will be starting all over Australia. Meanwhile we have had so much rain we have our snorkels out! Keep well D & N
ReplyDeleteI've heard about your rain - we need some here right now.
DeleteThere can be nothing worse than wild fires. At least with too much water one can put an umbrella up, float a boat, and wait for drier times, but with fire there can be nothing left other than ash. Glad you were safe.
ReplyDeleteMany of the areas hit by bush fires from a few years back have had new growth but the blackened tree trunks remain as a reminder.
DeleteI always feel so sorry for the beautiful trees and animals caught in wild fires. I am sorry houses were burnt but happy for no fatalities. 20 seconds of "wild fires near Melbourne" were mentioned on ABC this morning.
ReplyDeleteNadege,
DeleteI sometimes wonder if Australia rates a mention in overseas news.