Bushfires

[peepingtom]

Sorry to hear about the loss of lives - and great damage - in Canberra.

If only we could export some of our rain to you!

PT, England

[jimmy]

Thanks for the concern. Canberra has been a bit of a mad house. I live northside and saw the fire rip through from behind. Boy did it move. I know 2 people who lost everything, one his car and another his garage. Yesterday (Tuesday) my side was on alert for fires, but fortunatly nothing happened which is just as well as I live only 200m from the border and long dry grass. Saturday is meant to be bad.

As for the rain you would think it would be good, but guess what it ain't. Canberra's water dams are mostly located where the fires are. Any heavy rain will wash ash and silt into the water supply which will screw us anyway. When it will be safe to have water is anyones guess. For a good site have a look at the link below. You can zoom into Canberra and see individual fires, and you can also do an historical map which will show how bad it really was. Quite interesting:

http://www.sentinel.csiro.au/mapping/viewer.htm

[cass]

Hi Jimmy,
I'm so sorry to hear about the fire being so close to your home. It must have you stressing? We had a model who had to cancel a shoot with us because she had to go home to her family house in ACT to help fight off the bush fires. Fortionately they saved their house, but it left her shaken. Understandably.
Can you chop down some of the long grass by your house. I guess it'd be lots of hard work. You'd have to go back for at least a km. But undoubtably less work than fighting off the fires so close to your home. You'd need a tractor mower to cut it and a plough to drag all the grass away from your property. Is it farm land? Maybe someone has these facilities. I'm nervous for you.

I had a friend at my school in NZ who lost everything in a house fire. Their whole life was gutted. All their photgraphs and memories. It's a shame humans are so sentimental. If we weren't so, nothing would be a problem, would it?

Keep us up to date on how you go Jimmy. Maybe the Abby crew can gather up a bunch of models and we'll come help you fight off the fires. (No Arsby, not naked)

Lots of love
Cass xxx

[jimmy]

Hi Cass it is still a bit of a mad house around town at the moment, think it will take some time for things to get back to normal. Visited my sister who lives down south, although nowhere near where the fires were but had to drive home through the main road south. Quite bizarre seeing the black scar that was one grasslands and trees. For anyone that knows Canberra there is fire scar from south of Tuggeranong Hyperdome (probably much further) all the way up to William Hovel drive in the north which is around 20Km. They are now in the process of burning a break around the rest of the way to the extreme north of Canberra because of hot windy weather planed this weekend and with fires still about 10km west of here. Some of the stories I have heard from the guy that lost his garage and the guy who lost his car are bloody scary. Haven't seen either of the two people I know who lost their house, the poor bastards!

Your countrymen probably aren't too impressed as ash from Canberra has fell on some of your snow-covered mountains!

I hope this model that had to cancel comes back. It never really dawned on me but there is no model from the ACT in AW (nor from the NT either I think). Would be good to see. What was her name if she does indeed come back?

PS. As for getting some models to fight the fires, sounds good, but I think they would probably be too hot and start a few fires themselves, or at the very least distract the fire fighters from doing their job. Great idea though and there is always plenty of cold beer in my fridge!