Burning Down the House(s)

A few weeks ago, authorities were predicting this summer would be one of Australia's worst fire seasons in decades. This fear has certainly come to pass over the past week, with much of eastern Victoria (and more recently parts of Tasmania) up in smoke. To date, fires have claimed around 400,000 hectares in Victoria's east. A number of the fires continue to burn out of control and are expected to continue burning throughout the summer.

I hopped up to Canberra at the end of last week, which gave me the opportunity to fly over the fires. Looked pretty dismal. I returned to Melbourne to enjoy a weekend of record temperatures (reaching 42C on Sunday) combined with a thick haze of smoke. Fortunately, a change in the weather Sunday afternoon dropped the temperature back down to 20C, allowing us to enjoy an afternoon barbie with all the 343 Church Street neighbours.