Re Jack's comment of a couple of days ago about media coverage of the fires:

Remember, the media will always go for the dramatic "flames reaching for the sky" photos - not the photos showing ordinary people going about their daily business. Yes, there are a lot of fires right now after an early start to the annual - remember that word, annual - fire season. This year is a bad year, exacerbated by the ongoing drought.

Australia has millions upon millions of eucalyptus trees, and they burn. Nature designed them to burn; the leaves don't break down in mulch, they are full of oil. Distilling eucalyptus oil is an industry which has been going on for many years. These trees can erupt in flame - there's that wonderful photo opportunity! Once the flames are out many of those trees prepare to regenerate, which they do at the first sign of rain.

Seeds of other Aussie plant species, banksias for one, need the heat of fire to break open hard woody pods to release the seeds inside.

In recent years fires in California have been very bad. Some time ago someone decided that, as parts of California and parts of Australia have similar climates, eucalyptus trees could also grow well in California! Well - guess what?

I'll get off me soap box now and have brekky.