A total fire ban in Western Australia today

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We have three trees we need to cut down as they are too close to the power lines. We thought we might do it today but there is a total fire ban which means no movement of vehicles in paddocks and no use of chain-saws, or other machinery that might cause a spark. The total fire ban is not because of the weather but because all available fire-fighters are fighting a blaze just north of Perth, capital of Western Australia. Vince watches the activity in the air over the fire and yesterday there were 6 light aircraft, 3 water-bearing helicopters, 3 large air tankers and 2 control planes. He said it was like a beehive with so many planes in the air. Some stuff you may or may not know: Fire retardant is often dropped rather than water. It is coloured pink, I guess so they can see where they’ve been. The retardant is effective until heavy rains wash it off the vegetation. Fire-fighters are warned when the bombers are about to drop their load as they could be injured by the weight of the water. A direct hit on houses, too, needs to be avoided for the same reason. Planes cannot be used for fire-fighting once darkness falls so the task on the ground crews increases even more. My sister’s/nephew’s place is still unscathed at the moment. Photo of one of the (very) pregnant Nigerian dwarf does that were evacuated from their farmlet.