bad news about the australian bush fires...

This morning I was just waking up when my mum came into my room looking very upset...

Mum - I got some bad news...

Oh no.. I thought to myself...what could this be?

Mum - Murray called this morning. Narbethong has been completely wiped out by the bushfires. Ross has lost absolutely everything. I called him and he's ok..he's thankful he wasn't there cause so many have died.

When my mum left my room, the tears starting rolling down my face...

What does my mum said mean?

Australia is known for it's bushfires. The temperature can get soooo hot and the past few days it has been 47 C. And no rain. Creating perfect situation for horrific bushfires.

And that is exactly what has happened. Whole towns have been burnt to the ground when fires tore through town areas in Victoria, Australia. One of the towns that was hit badly, is a town where my uncle has a farm. He has lost EVERYTHING on that farm. Trucks, tractors, equipment, the house....everything...

It seems some cattle have survived but I don't know what condition they are in.

To give you an idea of how ferocious these fires can be, look at the picture below.

The bottom left hand side is the trees. And look at how much smoke there is and through the smoke you can also see the red flames.


I was so sad to read and see pictures on the net of cars that had been totally burnt, and inside were poor people who had burned to death as they were trying to drive away. The fire caught up to their cars and just engulfed them.



The only reason my uncle wasn't there was cause he was visiting my grandmother who is very ill after suffering several strokes over the past year. He says he is thankful he wasn't there cause if not he would have tried to save equipment or cattle, and would not have made it out in time.

I am so thankful for that too. But I can only imagine his heartbreak when he went back to his farm to see everything burnt. My mum said he described his trucks and tractors as 'mere moulds of metal'.

Once the feeling of thankfulness that you did not burn in these horrific fires wears off, then the residents are faced with the challenges of rebuilding their lives.

I have fond memories of this farm. It has a small lake with a duck that always lived on it. My uncle and grandfather took me on the tractor to help cart hay for the cows.

My thoughts are with all of them. And my prayers are with my uncle who will suffer now that this has happened.

Life is so full of challenges. Sometime I wonder how we keep going...