There are numerous bushfires in various parts of Australia right now, as there have been for some time. They started early, are extensive, fast and fierce. People have been killed. Homes destroyed. Animals burned to death. Landscape devastated. Cities and regions are covered in smoke. (I’ve just read that the smoke has reached New Zealand.) People are being evacuated from towns, roads closed, supplies are running out, power is out. There are stories of great heroism and of kindness, people helping others and helping wildlife and other animals. It’s a time of crisis and I expect it to change the nation.