Australian fires

[Al the optimist]

There are many Australians who walk the Camino. I met some from NSW myself. To those I met, and to all the others I hope you, your loved ones and your homes don't suffer from these terrible fires. To those presently walking on the Camino I hope that concerns about home do not ruin your experience.

 

[camino-david]

Hi Allan,
Thank you for your kind thoughts. The bush fires are very bad, and although I am 100 kms away from the main ones in the Blue Mountains, this evening the smoke haze cast an eerie orange glow at sunset. Today it has been relatively benign, but Wednesday is forecast to be a horrific day with gale force winds spreading the fires. We have had the warmest winter on record, the hottest October days on record it has not rained significantly since the end of June so the bush is tinder dry and primed to explode. Again thanks you for thinking of us. You are a true Caminophile.

 

[David]

We almost never get news about Australia in the UK - a sort of invisible country, almost mythical, but the story of the wildfires is being shown. Sounds pretty horrid - and with that wind coming ... well .. who knows what happens next. But, your firefighters - amazing people, amazing!

Good luck to you all

 

[vicrev]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts......Yes,our firefighters ARE amazing people & deserve all the praise & respect given to them,they fight the fires ,sometimes returning home ,to find their own places have been burnt to the ground....tragic............bad forecast for Wednesday, hope the Met people get it wrong...........Vicrev

 

[Cejanus]

Thanks for the thoughts. Please chuck in a few prayers as well. These fires at home are just so scary and many, many homes have been burnt to the ground.

 

[Al the optimist]

You already have mine.

 

[Cejanus]

You already have mine.

Thanks so much. The fires are still raging however there is hope on the horizon that we are getting through this.
I was thinking about bushfires in Spain and whilst I walked in April wonder what danger there is during the heat of summer? What would I do on the Camino if there was a bushfire, especially towards the end of the Camino Frances when you head through the Australian Eucalyptus forest? I have seen those trees burn so fiercely and quickly.

 

[William Marques]

What would I do on the Camino if there was a bushfire, especially towards the end of the Camino Frances when you head through the Australian Eucalyptus forest? I have seen those trees burn so fiercely and quickly.

Not much chance of a 100 day drought in Galicia!

My wife's sister lived in Mt Riverview in the Blue Mountains which was touched by the fires. A wonderful place to live but the forest was not far away.

 

[vicrev]

Just an update on the fires.......thanks to our wonderful firefighters,today (wednesday)was not as bad as expected,some fires are still out of control,and are a concern.......thursday & friday things could take a turn for the worse, with the forecast for high winds,just hope it doesn't eventuate.............Vicrev

 

[Saint Mike II]

Thanks everyone for the good wishes. Yes being on the other side of the world most Europeans and those in Nth America only hear about us when there are forest fires or tropical storms destroying large numbers of homes or there is large loss of live.
Yes thankfully the situation is now very much under control - but around 200+ houses have been destroyed. So the process of rebuilding now begins and for some the heatache and the terror of the fires is too much and they will build anew in a less dangerous area. But there are those who love the area and the lifestyle - hopefully they will employ professionals to advise on house designs that are less fire prone and then keep the large tress away from their new homes. Last Sunday the Danish Crown Prince and Princess visited the area and it was a gesture widely appreciated (of course my Danish friends will know the Princess Mary was born in Tasmania - our island state), they were in Oz to celebrate the 40th aniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House - which was designed by a Danish architect.
Thanks again for the good wishes.