bushfire - sunset

Leonard Cohen in Victoria

A few of us very blessed Victorians got to see Leonard Cohen perform the night before last. I'm sure we'd all like to send a big thank you out into the ether - for the concert, his (and his band's) generous contribution to the bushfire relief fund, and for singing 'Anthem' for us all (but, more particularly, for those dirctly hit by the bushfire - who had somehow made it to the concert):



The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
Has passed away
Or what is yet to be

(Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in)

bushfires in Victoria - sugar glider

(Photo by Stephen Harman, at the Herald Sun Photo Gallery.)

A great deal of suffering, but also relief for some of us as we slowly hear about friends. Everyone is sending love and support to all those who've been hit hard by the fires. Nobody really knows what to do - except to offer help and be amazed at the bravery of the CFA and everyone else directly involved.

bushfire stories

Donations to help people can be made at the Australian Red Cross (see yesterday's post). Donations for horses, or offers of feed or agistment etc in Victoria can be made to:
http://www.phhwv.org.au/emergency.html
Donations to help a range of pets and livestock can be made at:
http://www.rspcavic.org/campaigns_news/news_bushfires.htm

Story from The Age
After sending his brother to find safety on his prize 1993 Heritage Soft Tail Classic Harley-Davidson, Mr Sexton grabbed his horse, Jeune Mark, the offspring of 1995 Melbourne Cup winner Jeune, a cold beer from the fridge and walked out the gate. They started trotting, but just a few hundred metres from home they were confronted by flames.

"As we got up around the corner the flames just went absolutely sick, so I thought we'd turn around and try and race back. But the fire came up behind us, it came down from the hill, and we were just bloody engulfed, and I just thought to myself, 'That's it. This is where I'm going to die,'" he said.

Read the rest of the story at:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/spirited-horse-helps-farmer-survive-worst-20090208-811c.html?page=-1

bushfires

It's that dreaded time of year again. But I don't think any of us expected this. After a top of 46.7C (around 116F) in Victoria yesterday, the state has been absolutely devastated by bushfires.

We were relieved that fires narrowly missed the property where I ride regularly, but were so saddened to hear of the many deaths. The fire will also have had a devastating impact on livestock and wildlife.

CFA volunteer firefighters and many other volunteers have been doing an amazing job. People are also opening their homes to displaced families, and their properties to horses and cattle (quite a gesture, considering the shortage of feed in our current drought conditions). Just one example of a help message board is at:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/victoria/2009/02/offer-help---or.html

Donations can be given at the Australian Red Cross site:
http://www.redcross.org.au/default.asp