Hey it's hotter than Texas here mate, we got bush fires like you wouldn't believe, already lost 1 million acres and the whole state is blanketed in smoke, still, it's great drinking weather!
I bet our fires here in BC are smokier than your fires!! AND we also get to enjoy the smoke from fires in the Pacific north-west of the states.
Buull#$%*e Nick, you wouldn't know a bushfire if it bit you on the arrse! The fires here are so big, we don't try to put them out, we just wait for them to burn from coast to coast, and just rebuild what populaced areas were destroyed along the fires path! Ha ha, just kidding, but these fires are the worst on record, so that's pretty bad, even for a country used to big fires.
I had my last day at work before Christmas yesterday, so I rode my BMW K1100LT, was a great ride, 60 miles each way, and the fire-fighters should love me because as soon as I wheeled it outta my garage the rain started falling down for the first time in weeks, (months?) and we all got a good soaking and most of the fires were contained, or extinguished, so all the fire-fighters can go home for Christmas, and that's good.
It's been burning fiercely around Mt Hotham and Mt Bulla for the last 20 days but guess what? On Christmas Day it's gonna snow! No BS mate, probably the first "White Christmas" in Oz, ever! If I wasn't going to the wife's Mom's place for Christmas lunch, I'd drive the family up there, it'd be truly magic I reckon?
For you guys who see snow all the time it probably doesn't mean much, but here in Oz we've normally got the aircon going full pelt, as it's usually in the high 90's or hotter, on Christmas Day! Cheers, Terry.