Friday 3 January 2014

Smoldering Saturday.

We burn, we flood or we fry.  At present we are burning.

 It is just 10 am here & already the temperature sits at 31.5C.  Across the bay we can see the enormous smoke cloud that has engulfed Stradbroke Island for the past few days as a summer fire rages out of control.  

Most of Stradbroke is uninhabited ~ & a good part of the middle of the island is inaccessible as well so any fire tends to rampage down to the southern end, turn around & head back north so long as it has fuel to burn.  Every summer we've seen this happen.  Some years are worse than others.  Some years, if the wind is more to the east, we get live ash & embers falling on our heads.  That is a worry as we are mostly all bush in our neck of the woods.  Eventually any fire burns itself out for lack of anything else to burn.

Unfortunately Brisbane is also experiencing something of a heat wave.  It's not even the heat, it's the humidity that drives everyone to distraction.  We are all hot & bothered & the cats are beside themselves ~ though cat~like they have found the coolest spot in the house & are flopped belly~up, legs spread, to get every last whisper of cool air.



Last night Cait & I walked along our road to the vacant block that gave us an unobstructed view of Stradbroke & gazed silently at the long tail of glowing lights that formed a Ring of Fire down the spine of the island.  Under the shirr of cicadas there is the constant drone of helicopters water bombing the fire & the rippling sough of sea & wind.  I am grateful for the breeze which is keeping our house bearable, but pity the firefighters because the wind is not helping their cause at all!  Most of Straddie & parts of our island lost power when wires melted due to the heat of the fire.  Despite a little rain everything is dry as old bones & the grass is sharp & brittle.  Our Firies haven't even got to their controlled burns yet so let's hope they haven't left their run too late because there are spots here that, if a fire gets hold they will never stop it.

2 comments:

  1. Oh I do not miss bush fire season :o/ xx

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  2. Yeah, I could do without it too. :( We smell all smokey....

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