W is also for Victorian wildfires
This was from our truck window as we drove along the edge of the Longwood fire in Victoria, trying to head to the Melbourne area to get out of the fire zone. To catch you up (the US has had its share of trauma, too), much of Victoria burst into flames a few days ago. We were in Dederang in the Kiewa Valley. Very hot, very dry air made for a combustable environment. We had temperatures 43-45C (110-113F) and lots of wind. Any spark from a motor or branches rubbing can set off a fire and many brush and grass fires did start. The biggest ones were on either side of us. In the fire map below, we were at the blue binoculars. The wind was blowing eastward so really we weren't too worried about the fire to the right/east but the one to the left/west (Longwood) was huge and growing. And also headed eastward. At that time, we were taking care of the dog, cat and two horses. There was a horse trailer but where would we take them? There was a dam on the property but no easy way to get ...