Monday, February 9, 2009

Up in flames.




Wow - I am not sure what to say. I had a big week of news for all and tons of photos, but the fires that are rampaging our state at the moment have struck a chord with me. We drove home from Melbourne yesterday and had to come through Wandong, which is shown in photo 1 (and we were on the side of the Hwy least affected) one of the worst hit areas. It was truly the most devastating sight I have ever seen. Houses along the side of the road - gone! Farms - gone! Trees - gone! Animals - gone! The area was black, with only shells of trees and houses left in the fires wake. Even the houses that somehow (miraculously) remained standing, left a hole in my heart. I can not even begin to imagine what these people felt...the fear, the shock - it just blows me away. Dad has a very good friend in this area and he and his house are OK, but I wonder at how many friends he will now see suffer, how his community will suffer. I pray that God is with him and everyone affected at this time. Once we past through the area we realised that the smoky haze in photo 2, was to stay for the remainder of our drive home. Whilst our house is about 40 minutes away from the nearest fire right now, our town is filled with smoke which is a constant reminder of what is occurring right on our doorstep. This last photo is what I took last night out the front of our house as the son was setting. The camera couldn't capture the colour of the son, it appeared to us a red ball and was actually one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It is amazing that even when disaster is present, beauty can still be found! Sorry for my ramblings...guess I just needed to share. Please spare a thought or prayer for those who need it most right now.



5 comments:

Unknown said...

I read about the fires in the paper this morning and was wondering about a few of you in Australia. Being from California we are plagued with wildfires yearly and it is devastating. I will be keeping you all in my prayers.

Tonya said...

ADN YOUR COMMENTING ON MY BLOG??? Gril!! Keep you and your family safe!! I just read the article about the fires and thought about you guys!! Please bail if you have too!! You are in my prays!! Lots of love!

Anonymous said...

Oh, don't you worry Tonya...was just speaking with a friend and she said, "would you stay and fight, or go?"....I have no doubt in my mind....I would RUN, RUN, RUN! The house means nothing compared to our lives! In fact, am already starting to plan what to take if I need to go...'if' being the operative word. For now, we are all very safe - promise!

Kim said...

I read about this today! I will be keeping you all in my prayers and hope that all those affected find peace. So terrible. The last picture was beautiful. What irony huh? Please be safe!

mejane said...

It is devastating. We have wildfires here in California every year it seems. A couple years ago a forest that I've been hiking for years went up in flames. Completely destroyed. I know the damage it can do. You'll be in our prayers.