Victorian Bushfires

Hello everyone! I was just watching our morning breakfast show (Sunrise) on TV … and felt a little overwhelmed with the devastation we are seeing from  the Victorian bush fires. It made me feel that it would be a little trivial to be posting about cards & stamping when so many of our Victorian friends are suffering so greatly with such great losses. For those who may be reading this from overseas … I thought I would share some details that I found this morning on the ninemsn website…

By ninemsn staff and AAP

One hundred and eight people have been confirmed dead in the ferocious bushfires that ripped through Victoria at the weekend, according to The Department of Sustainability and Environment. The staggering death toll makes these blazes — some of which are still burning — the deadliest in Australia’s history and there are fears that the number of fatalities will rise again. At least 750 homes have been destroyed and an estimated 330,000ha burnt out while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain.The latest death toll, announced at 6.30am (AEDT), surpasses the toll from the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, in which 75 people died in Victoria and South Australia, and the Black Friday bushfires of 1939, which killed 71. One fire official said the blaze now had a perimeter extending “hundreds of kilometres” and may take weeks to contain.The Kinglake fire, which sprawls across 220,000ha — about two-thirds of the area destroyed by fires across Victoria — has all but consumed towns including Kinglake and Marysville.It was expected more burned houses, and more victims, would be found once day broke.

There are families who have lost several family members … and so many who have lost everything they own. It was so moving this morning to see even the news reporters in tears as they spoke to some who could not locate family.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this as a tiny & insignificant tribute to all those who have lost their lives … their families who are mourning … those whose whole lives have been wiped out through loss of everything they own … all our brave volunteer & regular firefighters who are on the brink of exhaustion – but continue to work on. (I heard one firefighter lost his wife & 3 kids while out fighting the fires elsewhere!) Such sadness & devastation. Our thoughts & prayers are with everyone!

I will be back soon … with a regular post!

Oh … I just thought I would add … if anyone would like to donate to help the victims of this tragic event … here is the link ->  Australian Red Cross.