Aussie Bushfires

Many of you have written to talk about the bushfires that started in Victoria over the weekend. Thank you all for your interest and concern, we're as-yet unaffected by the many blazes currently burning around the state. It is really hard to know what to say at a time like this - Australia has never seen such devastation either man-made or natural in the past 200yrs. For those folks that would like more information or that want to get more in-depth reports, our primary news source online has been The Age - one of the main Melbourne newspapers. The general stats are that over 500,000 acres have been or are currently burning, over 1,000 structures (homes, barns, cabins) have been destroyed and 181 lives have been confirmed lost. The current estimate for total loss of life is expected now to top 300 as more areas are investigated and homes and cars discovered. Many many more animals, wild and tame, are also impacted and nobody has been able to put a number on that yet.

We've both signed up to give blood in the coming weeks once the blood banks have an open appointment, and we're going to be looking for ways we can donate time as well. If anyone is interested in supporting the victims, a fundraising effort has begun and I'm sure donations of any size are appreciated. Many of the Australian banks have opened fundraising accounts, some accepting donations include Commonwealth Bank, Bendigo Bank as well as the Australian Red Cross. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the firemen still out there battling, with the survivors and their families and friends, as well as with those that are still in the path of these destructive fires - we encourage everyone to please think of and pray for all of them as well.