Summer is here again. There’s a total fire ban in large parts of Oz and local Western Sydney and temperatures are set to reach 40ºC with humidity as low as 3%. There is a lot of weeding to do out in the front but I doubt I’ll be doing much of it today and I’ll just have to wait until this hot spell passes over.
The total fire ban is a bit of a black joke really. There is a huge chunk of the Blue Mountains already afire as it has been for several weeks. Thousands of hectares have already been dstroyed and with high winds forecast as well it looks as if it is set to spread much further afield.
There are blazes running wild in other parts of Australia such as Melbourne in areas close to residential areas. As previously our aree seems relatively safe with little combustible locally other than the houses themselves. How ‘safe’ we’ll be be as the vegetation regrows over the years who can say. All of us are planting trees and bushes to ‘beautify’ our homes… but the downside is the risk that we may make our homes less secure in terms of fire risk.
Occasionaly I consider the option of buying a small water pump with the purpose of having it available to fight small fires using the pool water until a proper fire unit arrives… but so far there’s been no urgency… though of course by definition you never expect the unexpected so maybe we ought to get one… just in case. After all they aren’t expensive compared to losing your house and possessions. ! 🙂
The Eclectic Interweb 