Bushfires in Illawarra.
Today has been a strange day because everyone’s attention has been on the bushfires burning in the area. The Illawarra, the region that Wollongong is in, has been given the status of a ‘catastrophic fire event’ risk: the combination of very hot weather, tinder-dry bush, and hot strong winds blowing from Australia’s desert is causing fires to start everywhere. And they are hard to stop because the wind keeps changing direction.
During the afternoon, Wollongong slowly became covered with a pall of yellow smoke which blocked out the sun, and it still is. Everything in the town was eerily quiet – I think everyone must have been staying at home. Now the sun is setting and the sky is turning a curious pale orange, and the wind is gusting around the house. A rather unusual day!!
Nana Down Under 