47.5

I stepped out of the air conditioning of the department store and gasped for breath as the sudden change into the hot gusty wind sucked the air from my lungs. The temperature gauge on my car said 47.5 Daughter darling says the only thing making it bearable is it is dry heat and I totally agree. The dust blowing around town gives the air a reddish tinge and my heart goes out to the firefighters dealing with this disastrous wind in a fire day labelled 'catastrophic'.

The old signs said low, moderate and high and very high and extreme

Because there is always fire danger even when it floods

and the fires of recent years have seen a change to the signs so now we have the catastrophic warning




The fires up and around the Grampians lately have been both terrifying and magnificent in their beauty. It is always easy to admire from a distance of course, being in or near or threatened by fires is not something that leaves any capacity for admiring beauty. The following images belong to people in and around Stawell and the Grampians and do not belong to me but I share them to give a visual of what the fires of the past week have been like.