Shocking

We've been out on the boat today and I was planning a happy and light post about our day but since arriving home we've watched the news and seen the updates on the fires in Victoria and I'm kind of not in the mood to post light and happy anymore.

The death toll is up in the 80's now, there are so many fires burning and so many homes lost. Entire towns have been destroyed. The enormity is overwhelming and this is something that's happening all the way on the other side of the country. One of my cousins over there is a fire-fighter - he's fine but knows people who have lost family members in separate fires. Another cousin has a farm up in one of the areas where we know other farms and houses have been destroyed and we are waiting to hear of news from him. An elderly aunt is in a town that is being used as an evacuation centre, we're waiting to hear from her too but at least we figure she's safe there. It's predicted that the death toll will rise, particularly as areas that have been inaccessible are searched. The high temperatures and strong winds have whipped the fire up into an uncontrollable force but the very worst thing is that most of the fires were deliberately lit. I'm not normally one for capital punishment, or torture. But, I can't think of anything shouldn't be done to the people responsible for this.