My thoughts.

We did the best we could to cope with the 46deg heat on Saturday - we spent the day at my sister's house swimming in her pool, huddling in the shade and sharing a few cold beverages. The sky was menacingly grey. We didn't know if it was dust being blown around by the strong winds or smoke. Then as the wind changed late in the afternoon we could suddenly smell what was definitely smoke. We could hear the sirens as the local CFA trucks left town to help out where they could. We are miles and miles away from any of the mass destruction, but that smell and those sounds filled us with dread. Of course, it was a stinking hot day with strong winds and we are experiencing one of the worst droughts ever, so it was inevitable there would be fires, but none of us ever imagined this....... Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, the volunteers and their families.