8/2/2009 - *horrifying*

I have just been watching the news - at least 65 people are dead (number rising) and almost 600 homes (number rising) are burnt, and entire small towns destroyed after the shockingly horrendous fires in Victoria hit this weekend.

We'd just had smoke from the fires come over our area, which is around 600kms away in New South Wales. I hadn't seen the news since Thursday, so I had NO idea until the smoke came over and turned the TV on just how bad the situation was.

It is completely gut-wrenching to watch images of cars burnt out on roads as people tried to escape, whole families dead, and so many more unaccounted for.

It is a day (if not week/s) of mourning for every Australian.

And the fact that it appears some of the fires were deliberately lit makes it even more sickening.

My thoughts are with the firefighters, the communities they are struggling to protect, and the friends and family of all those poor souls lost.

And I feel like a complete arsehole for whinging about the hot days we've had here.

Here is a link to the ABC news and one of the many stories on the devastation - http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/08/2485591.htm?section=justin

And this one has photos: http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires/