Tex posts again from amidst the fires.

Yesterday/today's godawful Canberra firestorm has taken 4 lives, caused hundreds of nasty injuries, destroyed 400+ properties and wrecked a good part of Canberra's power/sewage network.
Thoughts go to my fellow Canberrans who were affected by this hideous event. The fire front which ripped into Canberra was thirty-three kilometres in length. Needless to say, the ACT and NSW firefighting crews have done a staggering job in the face of incredible odds. A hearty "bless you" to every one of them, and to all those who helped out at the evacuation centres.

I don't know exactly how far 33 kilometres is. However, I know this much... when I'm in a cab coming home from the city, at the point where Flinders St shades into Anzac Parade, there's a big street sign announcing that it's 13km to La Perouse. I can imagine that distance, so just try and picture 2½ times that... insert fainting sound here.

The Mt Stromlo Observatory has been completely destroyed. And according to the Herald's weather page, it's not getting better in a hurry, currently scheduled to be 30 degrees tomorrow in Sydney, 36 on Tuesday and 30 again on Wednesday. This is a complete fucking disaster we've got here...

posted by James Russell | 10:24 PM