[Dave, Melbourne,Australia]

Q350: Canadian Railroad Trilogy "A drink to the living, a toast to the dead". I'm pleased to see Joveski survived Australia's worst ever bushfire day last Saturday. The death toll in our state Victoria is 108 & expected to be much higher. Many people died at Kinglake, just 30 miles from Melbourne. The fires have destroyed several towns (including Marysville, Narbethong & Flowerdale), 750 homes, 350000 hectares of land, etc. More towns are under threat now, including Beechworth & Stanley in north-eastern Victoria. It appears several of the fires were deliberately lit & the authorities are hell-bent on finding & charging the culprits. Victoria was more vulnerable to bushfires than ever before, after 10 years of drought, the last month without rain & last week several days in the mid-40s degC (around 110degF). Late summer & plenty of tinder-dry fuel for bushfires. On Saturday, Melbourne had its highest temperature on record (46.4degC/116degF) & north winds up to 100Km/h (60mph). The flames were up to 10 storeys high & crossed paddocks etc in seconds. Ironically, parts of Queensland in north-eastern Australia are currently suffering from major floods after record rainfall!