Sadly, Tasmania is burning and it just has everyone on edge and filled with sadness. The fires began in our wilderness areas from lightning strikes from a dry storm we had a few weeks ago. They seem to be spreading from west to east. They have now approached residential parts of the state in the southwest and central highlands. People are evacuating everywhere.
Tasmania has very good fire management strategies and so far there has been no loss of life though a few houses have now gone.
The smoke not only blankets our state, it has been reported that it has reached New Zealand.
Fires are unrelenting in our high temperatures blanketing out state and they really cause people to feel depressed. I feel very sad for the people leaving their homes for evacuation shelters and camping in large football ovals in this heat. I also feel very sad for the animals. Wildlife flee, people with horse trailers collect farm animals and move them to large paddocks that have been volunteered away from the fires. People really rise to the occasion and provide amazing relief on all counts.
Lots of donations being made to the dogs home and the woman who is organising paddocks for farm animals. A pet taxi service in Hobart has been collecting domestic pets and driving them to refuge as well.
One feels helpless watching. Everyone wants to do something but is not equipped to do more than donate money to those working. There have been warnings to stay away unless on official business.
Of course there has been one looter caught and another in a campground in the eastern half of the state that is currently fire free lighting a large campfire. Both have been charged and will go through the courts. One can only wonder what these morons think about. There has also been some arsonist that started another fire that diverted one of the helicopters away from the main blazes to put this fire out. I must admit my thoughts run to the days of public floggings.
Like the rest of the country, we need rain. Except Queensland which has floods raging in the north. Isn’t that always the way. We also need politicians who believe in the science of global warming and aren’t pushing through a coal mine at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. (Again the public floggings go though my head.)
As far as books. I have finished up reading the books I wrote of previously and am looking for something that will hold my attention long enough to get out of this funk that quite a few of us find ourselves in.
There is a lot of photography work coming up for me in the month of Feb that will be mentioned later. But for now I just need to get this out of my system.
I know this will pass. Everything passes eventually. Just need to keep telling ourselves that.
Enjoy life with the Penguin and me..books, travels, photography from Tasmania 
Wildfires are so awful. Yes…thankful for the brave firefighters!!!! That ‘roo breaks my heart. Hope they get the fires out soon!!!
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Thank you, I do too. The wallaby is beautiful. Glad he got help.
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Oh, wallaby! Thank you.
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My family went through the Thomas fire in Santa Barbara county, and my 97 year old father ultimately died from smoke inhalation . They evacuated a number of times. We traveled 1500 miles a few months later and saw the devastation. It was horrible. My thoughts are with all of you .
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When we realize how powerless we are in the face of natural disaster, it hurts and frightens us. It’s so terrible, thinking of the helpless animals, especially the wild ones, who don’t have one-on-one relationships with caring people. Bless the people who manage to scoop up hurt wildlife and help!
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Oh my goodness…. We’ve been hearing about your extreme temperatures down under and it sounds quite awful. Balanced with the extreme low temperatures in America, I wonder why anyone would question the effects of global warming??? Sending you supportive vibes from the northern hemisphere….. x
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Thank you very much. We’re cooking and my brother in Northern Michigan is completely snowed under. Snow above his knees. Makes for odd conversations.
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It’s Fire Season in Cape Town too, so I can absolutely relate to your post. Aggravated by the strong South Easterly winds that blow during our summers. Your pet taxi service sounds wonderful – we don’t have anything as organised and sophisticated here. May you all be safe and well.
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Thank you Alison.
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My thoughts are with you …… we’re beginning to endure worse summer fires here and have had evacuations. The challenges bring people together however it’s poor consolation for the havoc they wreak. Hopefully you will have rain, lots of it, soon.
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Thank you Cleo. I appreciate the sentiment.
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Despite the fires, unlike Lisa, I can never hate summer. While the fires are horrendous and kill so many things, in fact it is the sun and warmth that give life. Nothing (or little) grows in winter. I’ve come to realise that it is this – this sense of life that I feel welling up in me – which makes me love summer no matter how hot it gets at times.
However, the fires are horrendous, I agree. We were in Thredbo in early January, and there are still large patches of dead trees from the 2003 fires. My bushwalking, camping Cassie-Based brother has been sharing links with us. Very sad. (The last main exhibition he did at TMAG before he retired – though he did some small ones after it – was the 1968 fire anniversary one.)
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I saw part of the exhibit at the museum. It was very impressive. I understand and agree with what you say about summer but I just don’t enjoy being outdoors in the heat. It is probably because of the fatigue associated with MS. I just wilt and it curbs my activities so much. I’m a lizard that likes to come out from under the rock, enjoy a few things and then go back to the cave. 🙂
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Oh yes, I call myself a lizard too – I feel the warmth run through me and then I retreat inside. In other words, I don’t like being out in the real heat either but I like that it’s bright, sunny and warm, and I feel well.
On the other hand. I hate being out in the cold – I hate the cold on my face and ears, I hate wearing bulky clothes outside and then having to manage all the those clothes moving between inside and outside, and on top of all this my eyes water and require daily treatment, and my eczema plays up (too dry and cold outside, too dry from heating inside). It’s absolutely miserable.
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I am beginning to hate summer. In my childhood I loved it, but now it just seems like a season that has to be endured.
I heard them say last night on TV that they will be calling on American fire fighters for Tassie before long, because although all states send crews interstate to help out, it gets to the stage when the ones in the other states are all flat out and getting tired too. I think we already have some Americans here in Victoria because they were involved in the water bombing helicopter crash yesterday. (Fortunately, not hurt).
That photo of the kangaroo breaks your heart, doesn’t it? I used to read my Year 5 & 6 students Death of a Wombat by Ivan Smith illustrated by Clifton Pugh, to teach them the importance of being careful. In the book, the fire is started by a bottle left in the scrub, and the story of the wombat, too slow to get away, is devastating. That book should be compulsory reading throughout Australia.
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I know Lisa. It is so disheartening. I heard there were some Americans here already but I don’t know if that is confirmed. I don’t like summer even without the fires. I hate seeing everything so hot and dry. The animals break my heart. They are so vulnerable. There are so many people now helping the animals here. The people have more self determination. Though I feel for them too. Would be sad to lose your home. Thanks for replying.
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Sorry to hear about the fires, I can’t begin to imagine the terror of it all. A thought-provoking post.
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Thanks Frances. Thinking of you too🤠🐧
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Thank you for writing this.
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Great post; and so sad….
Sent from my iPad
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that’s awful… we had a number of very large fires last year; hope it doesn’t repeat… hope they get it under control…
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Thank you. I know, the California fires were beyond comprehension last year.
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