SUNDAY BEST #463 - BUSHFIRE

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity.

Please do not use this meme to advertise our goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

We've had three consecutive days in Victoria where temperatures have stayed up in the low 40s (˚C). The extreme heat, strong winds and tinder-dry grasslands and Eucalypt forests have created a catastrophic set of circumstances for bushfires to start.

Climate change and unpredictable weather events are making each year worse in Australia as fires, floods, droughts, cyclones and storms wreak havoc. Presently, hundreds of firefighters are flat out out trying to contain many large out-of-control fires as night falls on Victoria, the most concerning fire is the enormous Longwood fire, which has been threatening several townships as it spreads through central Victoria.

Firefighters and emergency services are concerned as a change in wind direction expected this Friday evening could hamper their efforts, as it pushes the blazes into new directions. The Country Fire Authority says cooler, calmer conditions might allow firefighters to assess the impact of multiple blazes in the coming days.

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Last week, Rupam Sarma in India posted a beautiful photo evoking a wonderful atmosphere of carefree childhood days. Please visit his blog for more great shots.

SMOKY SUNSET

Currently in Melbourne, we are experiencing very bad air quality, and there is a choking smell of burning with widespread hazy conditions as the smoke from the devastating East Gippsland bushfires drifts across hundreds of kilometres to reach the City.

You can help the thousands of victims who have lost loved ones, property and the roofs over their heads, here.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

HEATWAVE SKY

Thick haze descended on Melbourne today, with a north-easterly wind carrying smoke from the fatal NSW bushfires into our city, a distance of hundreds of kilometres. The temperature soared to a maximum of 45˚C making for apocalyptic scenery and a terrible day to have to be outdoors...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

TREES

As we are in Australia, Summer brings with it not only the hot weather and fun at the beach, but also the real threat and danger of bushfires. For the past few weeks, devastating bushfires have been burning thousands of hectares of bushland in NSW and Queensland. As the hot and windy weather is now with us in Victoria, bushfires are expected here also.

Not only do we see devastating losses of homes and property, but also loss of life as people struggle to save their homes and livelihoods. There is a profound environmental loss also, with trees, wildlife and natural resources burnt and reduced to ash.

Climate change has been quoted as a major cause of our increased incidence of extensive bushfires, but also there are other causes - and for many of these humans are directly responsible:

  Poor preparation for the fire season with lack of back-burning and land clearing in forests;

  Building of homes too close to bushland; 

  Electric power lines in direct contact with trees; 

  Careless behaviour involving fire - cigarettes, campfires, power tools, etc;

  And the most reprehensible of all, arson!

Trees are a valuable resource and we depend on them for not only wood and other products, but also more importantly perhaps, as the conditioners of our atmosphere, our oxygen producers and removers of carbon dioxide. Without trees, our planet is doomed. It is up to us to save our trees, our planet, our lives and the lives of our children.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

FIRE

Making a fire by a campsite provides flames for a cheery sight as night falls. Then it's time for some fireside tales by the warmth and flickering flame light... Be sure to put the fire out afterwards as the fiery friend can become a fiendish foe that can devastate a whole forest!

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #89 - FLAMES IN SOUTHBANK

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity! Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services.

This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

Dominating the Southbank landscape is the Crown Casino complex, here seen from Southbank Promenade. It is one of the central features of the Southbank area in the central business district and the Crown Promenade fronts onto the waterfront as part of Southbank Promenade.

On the hour, along the promenade outside the Casino there is a display of jets of fire that can quite terrify someone standing nearby who does not know about them or is not expecting them!

This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

SATURDAY SILHOUETTES #20

Welcome to the Saturday Silhouettes meme! This is a weekly meme that looks at SILHOUETTES in photography.

SILHOUETTE |ˌsɪlʊˈɛt| noun: The dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background. 
ORIGIN - late 18th century: Named (although the reason remains uncertain) after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–67), French author and politician.

Bushfire in Victoria in 2009

Please add your silhouette shot below, using the Linky tool: