The News Tonight

[Lillian]

The news reports look terrifying for the you Auzzies. How is everyone doing?

[kiwigeo]

Friday was hell here in The Adelaide Hills. Cudlee Creek fire was 20km from me and CFS red warning zone extended to a couple of kms from my house. Had car packed ready to roll and fire plan activated. Wind changed to the south late afternoon and pushed fire away to the north east. Fire is still burning out of control but cool weather is helping the firies.

[Lillian]

Martin, what a relief to hear you two are okay. My heart sank when I read about Adelaide Hills. The news clips, videos and photos are just heartbreaking.
You all are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Allen]

Weather couldn't be finer up in Cairns. Low 20's overnight to low 30's during the day and gentle occasional showers.

[Lillian]

Well that's good news.
Thanks for checking in Allen.

How are the rest of you guys doing?

[Bruce McC]

Slo Mo's Canberra Bubble is not keeping the smoke out in Canberra.

[Mark McLean]

I am glad that your place is OK at present Martin. I would hate for all of that nice tonewood to be torrified! It is going to be a long and worrying summer. Smoke everywhere across Sydney for the last few weeks. I think the climate change truth bomb might have finally dropped - although our PM doesn't seem to agree.

[Lillian]

Gawd that's right, your summer has just begun. If I could send the atmospheric river we had the past few day down your way I would. We were supposed to get ~7" of rain in 72 hrs. I think we ended up with about 4" in 48 hrs. No rain today.
Mark, Bruce glad to hear you are okay.

[Mark McLean]

Lillian
Please send anything that you can. It is incredibly hot and dry here. The city of Sydney has such low water reserves that we just instituted severe water use restrictions to spare the dams. We haven’t seen significant rain in months, and everyones garden and lawn is getting crispy. You are only allowed to water things by hand with a bucket (no hoses allowed), before 10am or after 4pm. But Sydney is better off than the inland towns and countryside. Complete dust bowls. So - seven inches of rain you say? I wonder what that looks like! Sounds like a problem of a totally different kind.
Merry Christmas to you
m

[Lillian]

New Mexico was in dealing with a drought the entire time I lived there during college. The standing timber in the forest I worked on was dryer than the lumber at the building supply stores. We had a few forest fires while I was there that were scary, but they were nothing like what you guys are dealing with.
Yeah, our 4" in 48 hours is a problem of a different sort, rock slides, mud slides, roads washing out, trains not running because of slides on the tracks and flooding. Not fun, but no were near what's happening there.

I hope you all can find some Joy for the holidays.
Merry Christmas to everyone.